Sunday, June 16,
2002
Tiger
holds off a surprise challenge
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
FARMINGDALE, N.Y.
(AP) - The U.S. Open came to life Saturday when two of Tiger Woods'
biggest rivals suddenly closed in on his lead.
That's when the alarm
went off.
Jolted awake by thunderous
cheers for birdie putts by Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson, Woods
responded with his best golf of the day _ along with his only
two birdies _ for an even-par 70 and a four-stroke lead after
three rounds.
After struggling
with his swing on the easiest day for scoring at Bethpage Black,
Woods was poised to become the first player since Jack Nicklaus
in 1972 to claim the first two legs of the Grand Slam.
He won the Masters
in April by building an early lead and watching everyone else
get out of the way. That might not be the case in a final round
that is suddenly dripping with drama.
Woods was at 5-under
205 and will be paired in the final group Sunday with Garcia,
a rivalry that has been brewing for the last three years.
Garcia ignored heckles
about his waggles and girlfriend Martina Hingis and turned in
his best score at a U.S. Open, a 3-under 67 that included a near
ace on No. 14 and a 20-foot birdie on the 16th.
Mickelson, who claims
to be one of the few players who can stand up to Woods, made seven
birdies in a calamitous round that nonetheless added to 67 and
left him at even-par 210. He is still in the hunt for his first
major championship.
"I grinded my
butt off today," said Woods, who didn't make a birdie until
the 15th hole. "I didn't hit the ball really well, but I
hung around."
He's right where
everyone expected, and that doesn't make the task for Garcia and
Mickelson easy.
Woods is 23-2 when
he has at least a share of the lead going into the final round,
and he's never lost a 54-hole lead in a major championship.
Throw in a New York
gallery that has become more boisterous each day, and it could
be quite a finish.
"It's going
to be tough for both of us," Woods said.
What could make it
even juicier are the sassy comments from Garcia on Friday, when
he complained that Woods was getting all the breaks and received
preferential treatment.
"I left a note
this morning in his locker that I didn't mean anything bad about
him," Garcia said. "I hope it's OK. It depends on him."
They shook hands
as they passed each other in the interview room Saturday evening,
although he final round will be no time to build a relationship.
"Nobody likes
to talk in a major on Sunday," Garcia said.
Whether there is
any more drama on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park also
depends on Woods.
"Tiger rarely
moves back to the field, so there's a lot of pressure to try to
make birdies," Mickelson said.
He made his share,
but only after a wretched start _ bogeys on three of his first
five holes. He also finished badly, hitting his drive on the 18th
hole into shin-high grass, chipping out to the fairway and winding
up with bogey.
That cost him a spot
in the last group with Woods, but not a shot at winning.
"I'd like to
put a little pressure on Tiger and Sergio playing behind me,"
Mickelson said. "If I make a few birdies, maybe they'll feel
a little pressure to do the same."
Woods has only lost
a 54-hole lead twice _ one of those was to Mickelson in the 2000
Tour Championship, when Lefty played in the group ahead of Woods.
Still, that was only
a one-shot deficit. This one is four strokes, and this is the
U.S. Open, the toughest test in golf.
"I get more
intimidated by the four shots than by Tiger," Garcia said.
Others still had
fleeting hope.
Jeff Maggert had
a bogey-free 68 and also was at even-par 210, five strokes behind.
Robert Allenby, the rail-thin Aussie, capped his wild afternoon
with a birdie on the 18th for a 67 and was another stroke back,
along with Billy Mayfair (68).
Still, it was Garcia
and Mickelson who got Woods' attention.
He was on the 15th
tee, 2 over for the day and, after blowing a birdie chance two
holes earlier, he heard two roars that shook Bethpage.
The first came from
Mickelson, pumping his left fist as his 20-foot birdie putt trickled
into the center of the cup at No. 17, just 250 yards away from
Woods.
Right next to him
was the 16th green, where Garcia rolled in a birdie from 20 feet
that also brought him to 1 under, just two strokes behind.
"Even though
the guys were making a run and I was still over par, I had to
remind myself I still had the lead," Woods said. "And
if I parred in, they had to come get me, and that's how I played."
He was even better
than that.
He laced a 3-wood
into the fairway on the toughest hole at Bethpage Black, and hit
his approach into 12 feet. When the birdie putt fell, Woods threw
his putter at his bag.
"That was my
way of saying to myself I finally had a birdie," Woods said.
Only he wasn't through.
He stuffed his tee
shot on the 207-yard 17th to 6 feet below the cup for another
birdie and pumped his fist harder than he has all week, sensing
order had been restored.
It wasn't a perfect
day, but it was good enough.
As tough as the Black
Course was Friday _ the highest scoring in 10 years _ it was soft,
still and forgiving, just right the mood for players to climb
up the leaderboard.
Nick Faldo, who only
got into the U.S. Open two weeks ago on a sponsor's exemption,
showed just how much he loves New York by making six birdies in
a round of 66, the best score all week. That put him in a tie
for eighth.
The course was ripe
for a runaway, only Woods wasn't on his game.
He didn't hit a fairway
until the sixth hole. He didn't have a decent birdie putt until
the seventh _ and missed. He barked out instructions to his ball
through pursed lips.
Padraig Harrington
of Ireland fared even worse.
He tried to stay
close, but a double bogey on No. 5 started his swift slide. Harrington
hit into the left rough, hacked out to the fairway and then flew
the green into a bunker. He wound up with a 73.
That left Woods with
a fresh set of challengers, but still a four-shot lead as he tries
to win his eighth major championship.
U.S.
Open Scores
By The Associated
Press
Tiger Woods 67-68-70_205
Sergio Garcia 68-74-67_209
Phil Mickelson 70-73-67_210
Jeff Maggert 69-73-68_210
Robert Allenby 74-70-67_211
Billy Mayfair 69-74-68_211
Padraig Harrington 70-68-73_211
Nick Faldo 70-76-66_212
Justin Leonard 73-71-68_212
Tom Byrum 72-72-70_214
Scott McCarron 72-72-70_214
Davis Love III 71-71-72_214
Mark O'Meara 76-70-69_215
Charles Howell III 71-74-70_215
Dudley Hart 69-76-70_215
K.J.Choi 69-73-73_215
Nick Price 72-75-69_216
Craig Stadler 74-72-70_216
Jay Haas 73-73-70_216
Scott Hoch 71-75-70_216
Shigeki Maruyama 76-67-73_216
Vijay Singh 75-75-67_217
Jesper Parnevik 72-76-69_217
Ernie Els 73-74-70_217
Frank Lickliter II 74-76-68_218
Steve Stricker 72-77-69_218
Bernhard Langer 72-76-70_218
Luke Donald 76-72-70_218
Thomas Levet 71-77-70_218
David Toms 74-74-70_218
Hidemichi Tanaka 73-73-72_218
Jeff Sluman 73-73-72_218
Niclas Fasth 72-72-74_218
Rocco Mediate 72-72-74_218
Kevin Sutherland 74-75-70_219
Corey Pavin 74-75-70_219
Jason Caron 75-72-72_219
Tom Lehman 71-76-72_219
Robert Karlsson 71-76-72_219
Paul Lawrie 73-73-73_219
Steve Flesch 72-72-75_219
Jimmy Carter 77-73-70_220
Chris DiMarco 74-74-72_220
Darren Clarke 74-74-72_220
Peter Lonard 73-74-73_220
Brad Lardon 73-73-74_220
Shingo Katayama 74-72-74_220
Franklin Langham 70-76-74_220
Jean Van De Velde 71-75-74_220
Kenny Perry 74-76-71_221
Donnie Hammond 73-77-71_221
Ian Leggatt 72-77-72_221
John Maginnes 79-69-73_221
Tim Herron 75-74-73_222
Brad Faxon 75-74-73_222
Greg Norman 75-73-74_222
Craig Bowden 71-77-74_222
Harrison Frazar 74-73-75_222
Bob Tway 72-78-73_223
Thomas Bjorn 71-79-73_223
Jose Maria Olazabal 71-77-75_223
Len Mattiace 72-73-78_223
Kent Jones 76-74-74_224
Spike McRoy 75-75-74_224
Stuart Appleby 77-73-75_225
Andy Miller 76-74-75_225
Jeev Milkha Singh 75-75-75_225
Tom Gillis 71-76-78_225
Angel Cabrera 73-73-79_225
Paul Stankowski 72-77-77_226
John Daly 74-76-81_231
a-Kevin Warrick 73-76-84_233
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