Mardy Fish, left, Adam Thielen, middle, and Derek Lowe stand at the podium, answering questions on the second round of action at the American Century Championships. Fish, the 2020 ACC winner, leads the event with 57 points.
Photo by Carter Eckl.
Mardy Fish put together his second best round ever at Edgewood Golf Course Saturday, tallying nine birdies en route to 32 points in the modified Stableford format.
Fish has 57 total points after two rounds, leading second place Joe Pavelski by seven points. Adam Thielen is in third with 45 points.
Former MLB pitchers Derek Lowe and Mark Mulder are tied for fourth with 42 points.
“He's a bully. (Laughter) It's not cool. We're all trying to catch him and he's running away from us. (Laughter),” said Mulder. “I'm only a few doors from Mardy, I'll see what I can do tonight, at the hotel. I'll get a sound machine; I'll figure something out later.”
FISH FLASHES THE PUTTING STICK
The former top 10 men’s tennis player has consistently been one of the tournament favorites for the better part of a decade.
Fish, who had 23 points after round one, put together a 34-point performance Saturday in spite of a lightning delay.
On the 14th hole, Fish sunk roughly a 50-foot putt to pick up three points on a birdie.
“A bunch of putts, certainly 14 was one that I was obviously just trying to 2-putt – couple that sort of went in,” said Fish.
Fish, a 2009 Wimbledon semifinalist, completed his day with nine birdies on the scorecard, finishing the round with eight birdies in 12 holes.
The lightning delay turned the pressure up on Fish down the final stretch of his round.
“The delay was interesting. Weird or different. We didn't get a shot for almost 45, 50 minutes or so and all of a sudden you've got to hit a tee shot on one of the most important holes,” Fish said. “You're sort of waiting for those holes and you know you still have a lot that you can score here.”
Thielen, who led Fish by one point after the first round, posted 21 points in Saturday’s penultimate round.
It marks two of the best rounds Thielen has put together in the ACC, trailing only the 25 points he scored Sunday in 2023.
His focus has been the difference, per the Carolina Panthers wide receiver.
“Usually I'm the type of person that looks ahead, how many points do I have? I've got to get to this number. The last couple of days I was trying to play my ball wherever it lands, figure out the next shot,” Thielen said. “How to get it, give me a chance at a birdie putt.”
Pavelski, who trails Fish by seven points heading into Sunday’s finale, will be grouped with the leader.
The longtime San Jose Shark has put together scores of 27, 25 and 24 for his three best rounds in ACC history.
He shot a 24 on Saturday last year, but put together a 27 on Sunday in 2022 to force a playoff with eventual champion Tony Romo.
A FREE BOAT
Friday, Hall of Fame wide out Tim Brown sunk a hole-in-one on the 12th hole to earn himself a free boat from MasterCraft.
The MasterCraft X24 is valued around $200,000.
Brown is the first competitor to win the boat since MasterCraft took over as a sponsor.
SCORING FORMAT
Albatross (3 under on a hole): 10 points
Hole-in-one: 8 points
Eagle (2 under): 6 points
Birdie (1 under): 3 points
Par (even): 1 points
Bogey (1 over): 0 points
Double or worse (2+ over): -2 points