Friday, July 20, 2001
Open tightens at Royal Lytham
By TIM DAHLBERG
AP Sports Writer
LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England (AP) — Tiger
Woods birdied all the par 5s and picked up another stroke out
of the rough, moving into contention Friday at the British Open
but still needing plenty of work to catch Colin Montgomerie.
The British galleries reserved the biggest
cheers for Montgomerie, applauding and yelling just at the sight
of him walking onto the greens.
He finished with a 1-under 70 and was at
135, his best position ever in a tournament that has brought him
nothing but disappointment over 11 year.
Pierre Fulke, who already has clinched a
spot on the Ryder Cup team but has been playing poorly the last
five months, was at 6 under after a 67.
Woods had a 3-under-par 68 for a two-round
total of 139.
Despite a rugged start, taking bogey from
among the trees on No. 2, Montgomerie held it together. Two birdies
on the back nine built his lead back to three strokes until he
dropped a shot on the 15th when his tee shot rolled into a pot
bunker.
Joe Ogilvie, an American playing only his
second major, had the lead at 7 under before bogeys on two of
his last four holes. He had a 68 and finished at 5-under 137,
along with Greg Owen of England (68) and Jesper Parnevik (68).
All took advantage of a day to score —
mostly sunny, unusually warm and barely a trace of wind. Montgomerie
and Woods had to cope with sprinkles as clouds moved in late in
the afternoon.
Eduardo Romero of Argentina had a 68 and
was in the group at 138, while Brad Faxon (71) was another stroke
back.
Davis Love III started the British Open
with three straight bogeys and opened with a 73. He responded
Friday with a 67, despite a bogey on the 17th hole, and joined
Nick Price and Vijay Singh in the group at 140.
David Duval was within two strokes of the
lead at one point until taking a double bogey from a pot bunker
on No. 10, and making back-to-back bogeys from the bunker on the
back nine. He finished with a 73 and was at 142.
Woods struggled with his putter on the opening
holes before two-putting the par-5 sixth for birdie. He hit his
second shot into a greenside bunker on the next hole, then got
up-and-down for a second birdie-4. He also birdied the par-5 11th
from a bunker.
Woods had to settle for pars on those holes
in his opening round of 71.
On the par-4 14th, Woods drove into the
right rough. But from a better-than-expected lie, he put his approach
on the front of the green and holed a 20-foot putt for birdie.
He gave one back on the next hole when his
tee shot landed in a divot, and he pulled a 5-iron into the weeds.
From there, Woods chopped it into a bunker, blasted out to 6 feet
and holed the putt for bogey.
“To be at the halfway point in contention
is a good feeling,” Woods said. “So many guys have a
chance to win. It's going to be quite a test on the weekend.”
The sun came out and the wind died down
Friday, allowing early second-round starters to post a barrage
of birdies.
With no wind, the links course of Royal
Lytham & St. Annes was left without one of its best defenses.
That allowed players to have some full shots at pins and avoid
many of the 196 bunkers littering the course.
Still, trouble abounded, as Phil Mickelson
found out just when he was making a move on the leaderboard. Mickelson
hit a wild drive into waist-high rough on the 14th hole, hit his
second into a fairway bunker and capped the hole with a 3-putt
for a double bogey.
Mickelson finished with a 1-over 72 and
was even par for the tournament. Davis Love III had a 67 and was
2 under.
Parnevik set the early pace with his 68
that included a bogey on the 17th from a bunker.
“I'm probably playing better than I
have been in a very long time,” Parnevik said.
Price was one player not happy to see the
nice weather just off the Irish Sea. After beginning the day eight
shots behind Montgomerie, he may need the wind to blow to get
back in the tournament.
“If it stays like this I'll probably
have to shoot two 65s to have a chance,” Price said.
While Royal Lytham was playing easier than
imagined on Friday, it wasn't easy enough for some.
John Daly kept hitting drives into the deep
rough, shooting a 40 on the front nine and finishing with a 76
that had him hurrying for a plane back home. Five-time winner
Tom Watson was 6-over for the day.
Tom Lehman won at Lytham in 1996, but this
time he won't be around to see the finish. He took double bogey
on the final hole for a 72, and at 5-over 147 was likely to miss
the cut.
Montgomerie was solid throughout most of
the round. He had an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole that
just turned to the left, and he swatted his putter in disgust.
Still, he goes into the weekend as a leader
with Woods and several others lurking.
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