| AP Sports Headlines |
Saturday, July 20, 2002
By Gregg Wong
Knight Ridder Newspapers
GULLANE, Scotland – The Tiger is lurking, and everyone knows it.
For the time being, though, the five players who share the lead at the halfway point of the 131st British Open aren't worrying about Tiger Woods. Not yet, anyway. They're hoping to save that for Sunday's final round.
Woods, who is trying to become the first winner of professional golf's Grand Slam, moved up the leader board after shooting a bogey-free, 3-under-par 68 during an all-day rain Friday at Muirfield.
That leaves him at 4-under 138, two shots behind first-round co-leader Duffy Waldorf, two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els of South Africa, former PGA winner Bob Tway, Shigeki Maruyama of Japan and Padraig Harrington of Ireland.
Three more players at 137 – first-round co-leader Carl Pettersson of Sweden, 49-year-old Des Smyth of Australia and Soren Hansen of Denmark – also stand between Woods and the top of the leader board.
After Woods shot 70 in Thursday's first round, there were 22 players ahead of him. He more then cut that in half Friday – and if he starts making some putts, he could vault past several more players in today's third round.
"I hit some good putts again today that didn't go in," Woods said. "Not only haven't I made a lot of putts for two days but I'm hitting good ones and they're just not going in. The stroke is good. They're just not dropping."
The only long putt he made for birdie was a 15-footer from the fringe on the par-5 17th. That came after he lipped out shorter birdie putts on Nos. 15 and 16. His other birdies were a four-footer on No. 3 and a two-putt from the fringe on the par-5 fifth. But his best putt probably was a par-saver of 18 feet on No. 10.
"Anytime you're near the lead in a major championship you should be happy," Woods said.
He said his plan today is the same – to stay patient and not make big mistakes. Hitting in the rough or the wrong bunker at Muirfield can be quite penal, as most everyone in the field has learned all week.
"I don't think in a major championship that I need to go out there and shoot 62 to catch up. That's not how I play," Woods said. "You play golf one shot at a time, and this course is the epitome of that. You have to get the ball in play and from there decide whether to be aggressive or conservative going to the green."
The consensus of the players ahead of Woods is to just play their games and the course and to not worry about him until they have to – which won't be until Sunday, if at all.
"I'm in position to challenge for a major again," said Els, who won the U.S. Open in 1994 and `97 and who also had three second-place finishes in the majors in 2000. "I have the opportunity to achieve one of my goals, to win the Claret Jug, which, I'm sure, is the goal of a lot of other players.
"I just hope to play well again (Saturday). And I'm sure it'll be pretty exciting come Sunday."
Els, who this year tied for fifth at the Masters and tied for 24th at the U.S. Open, and 1986 PGA winner Tway fired 66s to earn their shares of the lead. Els' round included a seven-birdie 29 on the front side; Tway made six birdies and an impressive 18-foot putt for par on 18.
Tway, incidentally, missed the cut in his previous seven British Opens. He and Waldorf got in this year after finishing in the top 15 in the Western Open two weeks ago.
Waldorf got off to a slow start until making an eagle on No. 9 en route to shooting 69; Maruyama bogeyed the first hole but was solid the rest of the way for a 68; and Harrington also had six birdies in a 67.
That kept them two shots ahead of Woods. One shot ahead are Smyth and Hansen, who shot 69s, and Pettersson, who had 70.
Among those tied with Woods for ninth place at 138 are his close friend, Mark O'Meara; Colin Montgomerie of England, whose 64 was the best round of the tournament; and Nick Price of Zimbabwe.
"Halfway into the tournament, this is a good position for all of us to be in," said Harrington, who has threatened in the other majors this year but could not get past Woods. He was leader after 27 holes at the Masters and played in the final twosome with Woods in the third round at the U.S. Open.
"As I said earlier this week, there will be a dozen guys having a chance to win on the back nine on Sunday," added Harrington, who tied for fifth at Augusta and tied for eighth at Bethpage.
Unless the weather changes dramatically – particularly the wind picking up off the Firth of Forth – Woods faces a big challenge over the final 36 holes because calmer conditions bring more players into the hunt. When the weather gets nasty, though, Tiger often dominates because he is the toughest player mentally.
"There's a long way to go, a lot of guys to beat," Waldorf said. "A lot of guys can do what Colin Montgomerie did today – shoot low and go into the lead. It's a long way from being over."
It is just about over for Phil Mickelson, the world's second-ranked player behind Woods. The left-hander made two double bogeys en route to shooting 76 for 144, which just made the cut.
"I'm not about to give up with two rounds left, but my play today has put me in an unfortunate position," said Mickelson, who is headed toward being 0 for 41 in the majors in his career.
PGA champion David Toms, one of the first-round co-leaders, also double-bogeyed the first hole and shot 75 for 142.
In all, 83 players made the cut (the low 70 and ties). The final twosome, Els and Maruyama, tee off today at 9:30 a.m. (CDT). Woods and O'Meara start an hour earlier.
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© 2002, Saint Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.).
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