Corpening leads by one at BMW Charity Pro-Am after second round

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Franklin Corpening leads the BMW Charity Pro-Am through 36 holes by collecting 13 birdies, one eagle and no bogeys.

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Series: Web.com Tour

GREENVILLE, S.C. – First-year Web.com Tour member Franklin Corpening is the halfway leader of the BMW Charity Pro-Am after posting a 15-under-par total of 128 in the unique pro-celebrity/amateur tournament played over three courses in Upstate South Carolina.

The 28-year-old from Fort Worth, Texas, has a one-shot lead over fellow TCU grad and friend Tom Hoge and South Carolina’s Mark Anderson after rounds of 62-66.

Corpening has played nearly flawless golf over the opening 36 holes, collecting 13 birdies, one eagle and no bogeys. He has hit 22 of 27 fairways and 30 of 36 greens, recording 29 putts Thursday and 25 Friday.  His only stressful moment came on his 18th hole at The Reserve at Lake Keowee, where he canned a 15-footer to save par after being in a greenside bunker.

While this is a big week for Corpening, he has another one ahead. He has received a Champions’ Choice invitation to play in next week’s PGA Tour event, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club, where he learned to play the game and where his father has been a member for 18 years.

Playing Thornblade Club, Hoge carded three birdies on the front nine and added four more on the back, plus a kick-in eagle on the par-5 16th when he nailed a 5-iron from 212 yards to one foot en route to his 63. The unique format, which pairs one professional with a celebrity or amateur, has had a positive effect on Hoge. 

“The guys we’re playing with this week are good amateur players, so it feels like you’re back at home playing a practice round with some guys who are scratch golfers. They’ve been great and we’ve been able to feed off each other.”

Mark Anderson tackled what statistically has been the toughest of the three host courses Friday. The Beaufort, S.C., resident added a 67 at Greenville Country Club’s Chanticleer Course to the 63 he put up Thursday at The Reserve at Lake Keowee, which put gave him a share of the first-round lead.

“I’m happy with my 67 today,” the 2008 University of South Carolina grad said.  “It’s nice to get this one out of the way and play well. This (Greenville Country Club) is definitely the trickiest of the three courses.”

Hudson Swafford (Greenville Country Club) and Zack Miller (The Reserve), who shared the first-round lead with Corpening, shot 70 and 73, respectively, to drop to a tie for seventh and a tie for 31st.

Corpening has conditional Web.com Tour status via his finish at PGA Tour Q-School last December. His best finish in eight career Web.com starts to date is a tie for 22nd at this year’s Chile Classic in Santiago in March. His game has been steady, yet not spectacular this year as he has made five cuts in his six starts. He is 86th in earnings.

He is one of three players to complete the first 36 holes without a bogey, joined by Aron Price (-10) and Benjamin Alvarado (-8).

Second-Round Notes:

--Roland Thatcher tied the Thornblade course record with a 10-under par 61 (Keegan Bradley, 2010). The round of 31-30 included four birdies on the front nine, four more on the back, plus an eagle at the par-5 15th. Thatcher is tied for seventh and plays The Reserve at Lake Keowee on Saturday.

--Playing with conditional status both last year and this year, Hoge’s best finish was a tie for sixth at the 2012 Colombia Championship in Bogota.  “It’s been a slow start (in 2013), not knowing when I’m getting in events. I’ve felt like I’ve been playing great the last month or so, starting in Brazil when I shot a 65 in the first round there. Hopefully I’ll get into a few events like here and Mexico and go from there.”

--Guy Boros and Matt Davidson lead the tournament in Greens in Regulation (33 of 36). Andrew Loupe leads the field in putts per round (24.50). Richard S. Johnson leads the field in driving accuracy (26 of 28).

--Cliff Kresge had a pair of eagles on par-5 holes, Nos. 15 & 17.

--For the second time in as many days, an amateur recorded a hole-in-one. Comedian Gary Valentine made his first ace while playing Chanticleer’s par-3 14th hole. Valentine’s ace came with a 6-iron shot from 165 yards.

--In the Pro-Am competition, the teams of Michael Putnam/Rolf Klam and Wes Roach/Bob Johns are tied for the lead at 23 under par. South Carolina's Mark Anderson and partner Todd Justice are in third place, one shot back.

Following Saturday's third round, the top 16 teams will advance to Sunday. There are currently 16 teams at 20 under par (tied for ninth) or better, including the team of David Lipsky and partner Ty Gretzky, the 22-year-old son of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky (tied for 35th) and actress Janet Jones-Gretzky (tied for 58th).

A season-high 168 professionals are competing this week to accommodate the unique professional-celebrity/amateur format. A cut will be made Saturday after 54 holes to the low 60 and ties instead of the usual 36-hole cut.

Joe Flacco Says Knee Didn't Bother Him

Posted Dec 22, 2013

Ryan MinkBaltimoreRavens.com Staff Writer@Ravens All Ryan Mink Articles



The Ravens quarterback threw two interceptions and no touchdowns against the Pats.


The only play quarterback Joe Flacco blamed his balky left knee on was an unathletic trip when nobody touched him.

Flacco went 22-of-38 for 260 yards, no touchdown passes and two interceptions in Sunday’s 41-7 loss to the New England Patriots at M&T Bank Stadium.

It was one of his worst performances of the season, and was rough from the get-go. But Flacco said his left knee injury wasn’t the problem.

“The brace didn’t affect anything. My knee felt great,” Flacco said.

“I probably didn’t have the same burst, but it felt good. I felt like I could move on it and run on it and do all kinds of things. It really held up well.”

Flacco suffered the knee injury on Monday night when Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy’s helmet bent his knee inwards. It was reported to be a “mild” MCL sprain, although that was not confirmed by the team.

Flacco was limited in practice throughout the week, but it was clear he was going to play. He has never missed a start during his six-year NFL career.

He didn’t make it the distance, however. Flacco was replaced by backup Tyrod Taylor late in the fourth quarter when the game was well out of reach. Head Coach John Harbaugh said he never considered turning to Taylor earlier in the game.

“I think [Flacco] played well, as far as [he] fought, battled in there,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t know about the stats or any of the other stuff.”

The Ravens starter had a rocky beginning.

He had wide receiver Torrey Smith wide open down the left sideline in the first quarter, but didn’t get enough on the pass to hit him. Flacco said he was looking the safety off to create a larger window for Smith, but the big-armed quarterback’s pass floundered. It was a missed chance at an early big play.

“I was just kind of standing flat-footed,” Flacco said. “The ball didn’t come out of my hand badly, but I just didn’t get anything on it.”

On the Ravens’ next drive, Flacco’s pass intended for Jones was too shallow. Inside linebacker Donte Hightower, who was underneath in coverage, leaped high to tip the pass and backup cornerback Logan Ryan picked it off. That set up the Patriots for their second touchdown.

“I just thought I could get it over that guy and I didn’t,” Flacco said.

Flacco was 5-for-10 for 52 yards and an interception in the first half. The start of the second half wasn’t much better.

The Ravens marched to New England’s 39-yard line on their first drive. Then Flacco missed open tight endDennis Pitta and Smith, but instead tried to squeeze a ball into Jones on fourth-and-3. It went incomplete and the Ravens turned the ball over on downs.

Flacco tried to hit Pitta on third-and-1 on his next offensive series, but the pass was too wide and bounced off Pitta’s hands and right to Ryan for another interception. Flacco now has 18 touchdowns and 19 interceptions this season. Prior to this year, Flacco’s season-high in interceptions was 12.

He started to lead a charge late in the fourth quarter and rallied the Ravens to 13 points down with a 1-yard touchdown sneak with nine minutes, 21 seconds left. But Flacco had four straight incompletions on the next drive, essentially ending any hope of another dramatic comeback.

The Ravens offense didn’t score a touchdown during the first three quarters, marking a stretch of seven straight quarters without reaching the end zone. It was operating against a Patriots secondary that lost its two starting safeties, Devin McCourty and Steve Gregory, to injuries during the game.

“We really had some room out there, and we were doing some good things,” Flacco said. “I mean, if we put the ball in the end zone there [after making the score 20-7], who knows what happens? That didn’t happen, then a lot happened afterwards. We didn’t play good enough. We got beat.”