Saturday, May 19, 2001
Woods surges with a 63 in Germany
By ROY KAMMERER
Associated Press Writer
HEIDELBERG, Germany (AP) — In yet another
compelling display that he can never be counted out, Tiger Woods
shot a 9-under-par 63 Saturday and surged within a stroke of the
lead at the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open.
Woods entered the third round 10 strokes
behind but is now in strong position to capture his fourth title
in five events, a streak that includes his Masters victory.
“I knew I needed to shoot in the mid-60s
to give myself a chance,” he said. “Fortunately, I did
that.”
Woods, with an eagle at the fifth hole punctuating
his day, is at 16-under 200. He came within one stroke of matching
the lowest score ever for one round at the St. Leon-Rot course.
Woods is a shot behind Argentina's Eduardo
Romero, who had a 67 and is at 199 entering Sunday's final round
of the rain-delayed tournament.
Sharing second place with Woods in the $2.36
million event is Michael Campbell. The New Zealander started the
round with a six-stroke lead but finished with a 73 that included
a double bogey on the 12th hole.
Woods is making his third appearance in
this tournament, which he won in 1999.
He scorched the front nine, shooting a 6-under
30. He then birdied Nos. 10 and 11, and a 15-foot putt on his
final hole brought him within a stroke of the lead.
He had seven birdies in all, but the shot
that ignited the round came on the par-5, fifth hole. He made
a 40-foot putt from the edge of the green that dropped into the
cup, drawing wild applause from the throng in the gallery.
“Thank God it went in because I hit
that ball too hard,” Woods said. “It would have gone
eight feet by it.”
Campbell, fourth on Europe's money list,
began losing his six-stroke lead with his 12th-hole double bogey.
He then three-putted the 14th hole and sent another drive into
the water on the 16th for two more bogeys — the second costing
him the lead.
The 46-year-old Romero is trying to become
one of the oldest players to win on the European tour.
While Woods' play and Campbell's collapse
dominated the round, Romero quietly spread around six birdies
to jump into the lead after starting the day six strokes back.
Swedish rookie Henrik Stenson, who won last
week's Benson and Hedges, was three back at 202, along with Australian
Peter O'Malley.
Campbell was at 17-under 127 when the second
round was completed early Saturday because of rain delays.
That equaled the PGA European tour record
for the most under par at the halfway point of an event. The record
was set by Frankie Minoza of the Philippines in February at the
Singapore Masters.
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