Saturday, June 16, 2001
Tracking Tiger: Woes continue
on second day
By JOHN LINDSAY
Scripps Howard News Service
TULSA, Okla. — Tracking Tiger Woods
Friday at the second round of the 101st United States Open Championship
at Southern Hills:
— SCORE: Woods completed his first
round Friday morning finishing with a 4-over par 74. He shot a
1-over 71 in the second round to stand at 5-over 145. Late in
the afternoon, Tiger was nine shots behind leaders Retief Goosen,
Mark Brooks and J.L. Lewis and in danger of missing the cut.
— SHOT OF THE DAY: Considering the
prodigal Tiger played 26 holes Friday and only made three birdies,
there's not much to choose from. But Woods did show a bit of his
magic on the 534-yard, par-5 13th hole in the second round. Laying
up short of the water with his second shot, Woods stuck a sand
wedge in to five feet to make his second consecutive birdie. If
he makes the cut by a shot and winds up winning, that's the swing
that saved him.
— WHOOPS!: Finishing his first round
early Friday morning, Tiger got aggressive on the 13th and paid
for it, splashing his 4-iron second shot into the pond. He did,
however, get up and down for a par. Later, Tiger's temper flared
when he found the sand on the brutal 466-yard, par-4 18th. He
blasted out but got no closer than 15 feet, resulting in an angry
toss of his club and a bogey that capped a disappointing first
round.
Then his putter went south early in the
second round — beginning with an inexplicable three-putt
for bogey on the 642-yard, par-5 sixth. Makeable birdie putts
also were squandered on the next two holes.
— HOW DID HE DO THAT?: Tiger's tee
shot struck a tree limb on the 491-yard par-4, 16th. What's so
unusual there? Well, the tree was 295 yards from the tee. Still,
the miscue led to a bogey.
— LOOK OUT FOR ... Remarkably, the
cut. The U.S. Open cut is top-60 players — plus ties —
or all those within 10 shots of the lead, whichever number is
higher. With the second round set to be completed early Saturday,
Tiger's fate remains uncertain. Tiger hasn't missed the cut on
the PGA Tour since 1998 or in a major since the 1996 Masters.
Simply unbelievable.
— ON THE COURSE: Tiger's play may have
been erratic, but the Tulsa fans didn't seem to care. Loud cheers
and cries of “Let's go Tiger!” greeted Woods as he approached
the tee boxes throughout the day.
“He's the reason I came,” said
Norma Jamison of Coweta, Okla., who watched Tiger on the first
tee Friday with her son Kyle.
Others were a little more impatient.
“He'd better get it going or he won't
even make the cut,” said Greg Smith of Tulsa after Woods
bogeyed the fourth hole in the second round.
— GRADE: D. Let's see, Woods pushed
his tee shots off to the right, missed greens often with his irons
and didn't make too many putts — except for several par saves.
Aside from that, Tiger was his usual dominating self. Either Tiger
is setting fans up for his greatest comeback ever or he just won't
be a factor this weekend. The latter appears likely.
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