Prugh hangs on to 2nd

LA QUINTA, Calif. – The persistent, heavy rains in Southern California washed away the first-round leader at the Bob Hope Classic, but Spokane native Alex Prugh held his ground, holding onto second, two strokes back of Bubba Watson.

Watson took advantage of the soggy conditions to unleash mammoth drives on his way to a course-record 10-under-par 62 at Silver Rock on Friday to take the lead after the second round, which began and ended in the driving storm that washed out Thursday’s play and pushed the final round to Monday.

But there were just enough hours in between squalls for the second round to be completed.

“I didn’t expect it to be that wet,” Watson said. “I didn’t come out of my house yesterday, so I didn’t know what it was.”

The Palm Springs area, which typically gets about 5 inches of rain a year, has been pounded by 3.3 inches already this week.

Although it’s expected to clear on the weekend before returning Monday, the storm has wreaked havoc on the PGA Tour’s only five-round, four-course tournament – but some players handle it better than others.

Prugh, no stranger to rain from his college career at the University of Washington, followed his opening 64 with a bogey-free 66 on the Palmer Course at PGA West.

His round was highlighted by a birdie and eagle on the final two holes. He had three other birdies in the round.

“Fortunately, I played the par-5s pretty well, making on eagle on 18,” Prugh said. “That was kind of the highlight of my round … playing those two holes (17 and 18) in a total of five shots. Those don’t add up to very much.

“I think the biggest factor (during the round) was having to control your wedge shots. Water-wise, there wasn’t any trouble, no casual water that I found. There might be (Friday night), with all this downpour that we’re getting.”

First-round leader Shane Bertsch (69) was at 13 under with Joe Ogilvie (66), Chad Collins (64) and Martin Flores (65).

Watson finished fifth at the 2007 U.S. Open in Oakmont, but he’s best known for his freakishly long drives and his even more prodigious tweeting abilities. Watson attempts to answer every tweet sent to him, and he posts links to videos of everything from his swing to his rendition of “Happy Birthday” to talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres.

In the morning hours before Friday’s round, he tweeted 112 responses to fans – albeit most of the one-word variety.

While Watson played indoor golf Thursday, Prugh waited out the rain by going to see “The Book of Eli” with another pro.

“It (the movie) was definitely a lot better than sitting out playing golf in the pouring rain,” Prugh said.

Prugh will play at La Quinta CC today.