Saturday, August 18, 2001
A two-way tie, and survival
for Tiger
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
DULUTH, Ga. (AP) — The putt looked
longer than his odds of making the cut.
Tiger Woods was just off the 15th green,
40 feet away from the hole. He was in dire need of something to
happen to avoid taking the weekend off in a major for the first
time since he turned professional five years ago.
Woods rammed the ball into the back of the
cup for a birdie he needed just to have a chance in the PGA Championship.
“Luck hopped on my side,” he said.
He'll need more than luck the rest of the
way.
David Toms and Shingo Katayama were tied
for the lead after two sweltering rounds at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Their record-tying 131s put them in a position they had never
been in at a major championship.
Ditto for Woods.
He usually spends the first two rounds getting
into contention. His summer swoon has come down to this: He celebrated
Friday by making the cut.
“I've always believed you've got to
give it everything you have, and that's what I did today,”
said Woods, who despite the heroic finish remains nine strokes
behind.
The long list of players ahead of him have
other matters on their minds.
Phil Mickelson had his second straight 66
and was one stroke off the lead, another chance to prove he has
what it takes to win a major. He'll play Saturday with Bob Estes,
who had a 66 to join Mickelson at 132.
The half-dozen players another two strokes
back include British Open champion David Duval (68) and two-time
U.S. Open champion Ernie Els (67).
“It's hard to speculate what score
will be needed to win,” Duval said. “As long as it's
mine, it's fine.”
Woods went from nearly missing the cut to
calculating his chances of winning his second major of the year.
The answer is two low rounds, and it's hard to dismiss his chances
after the way he finished his round Friday with back-to-back birdie
putts and a 67.
Usually, such a flair for the dramatic results
in a trophy. This time, it earned him a tee time Saturday morning.
He clinched it with an approach that easily
cleared the water on the 490-yard closing hole and landed safely
on the green.
Woods smiled and looked sideways at caddie
Steve Williams and chatted with Duval as they walked down the
fairway.
“I was telling David this is a lot
harder ... than trying to win a tournament,” Woods said.
“I've been there more times on the other side.”
Lost in the hoopla over Woods making the
cut was more record scores on a steamy day outside Atlanta, where
the heat index neared 100 and players draped towels over their
shoulders so they could wipe the sweat off their faces.
Katayama, a 28-year-old player from Japan
with a white cowboy hat right out of the “Howdy Doody”
show, birdied the last two holes for a 64. Toms had a 65 to join
him at 9-under 131, tying the PGA record for 36 holes last set
by Els at Riviera in 1995.
Even 44-year-old Mark O'Meara joined the
act. He became the oldest of 20 players to tie the major championship
record of 63.
“I hope it will motivate him,”
O'Meara said of Woods after finishing his bogey-free round before
Woods teed off. “I think when he sees me on the board he'll
say, 'Man, I can beat that O'Meara guy with my eyes closed.'”
O'Meara was at 135, four shots off the lead.
Toms came into the PGA Championship in 14th
place in the Ryder Cup standings. He no longer is motivated solely
by making his first team.
“I'm playing well enough right now
where I can win this golf tournament,” said Toms, whose five
PGA Tour victories include a come-from-behind win over Mickelson
in New Orleans earlier this year.
Toms knows enough not to count out Woods,
especially having played with him in the final twosome of the
third round last year in the British Open, which Woods won by
eight strokes to complete the career Grand Slam.
“If he makes the cut, with the game
he has there's no reason he can't win the golf tournament,”
Toms said. “It would be nice to have him around. It would
get some more people out there.”
The large galleries saw quite a show Friday.
Fifty players broke par on greens that are
not firm enough to get dangerous.
O'Meara, winless since 1998 when he became
the oldest man to win two majors in the same year, led the charge
and proved that no matter how long the course, the shortest stick
in the bag is usually the best weapon.
It will have to work for Mickelson this
weekend if he wants to shed that label as the best player never
to have won a major. He's in contention again for the third time
this year.
“I feel comfortable in this situation,
being here a number of times now,” Mickelson said. “However,
having not won one, there could be doubts that creep in. That's
something I'm overcoming now. I would very much love to win.”
He has plenty of company.
Els, the most promising star in golf before
Woods showed up, hasn't won a major since his second U.S. Open
in 1997, and the Big Easy shot into contention with three birdies
on his final six holes.
Duval survived a tough day with the putter
and also is poised to win his second straight major. His best
putt of the day was a 30-footer on No. 15 that came right after
Woods holed his critical putt.
At least Mickelson will be spared some introduction.
For a while, it appeared as though he would be paired with Katayama
in the final group Saturday.
“The only thing I know about him is
the hat he wears,” Mickelson said.
That's OK, Phil.
Katayama was asked what he knew about Mickelson.
“He's left-handed,” he replied.
Katayama warms up by hitting his shots left-handed
to work muscles on both sides of his body, and he enjoys listening
to the gallery wonder how he got into the field. His play on the
course left no doubt.
He made seven birdies, including the last
two holes, and is the first Asian player to be in the lead halfway
through a major since T.C. Chen in the 1985 U.S. Open.
He was asked which surprised him more —
to be leading the PGA Championship, or to be so far ahead of Woods.
“I would like to take a picture of
the leaderboard,” Katayama said.
Not a bad idea. With so many low scores,
and so many players in the hunt for the final major championship
of the season, it keeps changing.
And Woods still has a chance to make an
appearance.
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