Friday, July 20, 2001
Tiger shoots 3-under, but Monty still hot
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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