Tiger has rough day, fined for slow play
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Sports Writer
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Skip Kendall's goal was to play in the
Bay Hill Invitational and he made the most of it Friday, shooting
a 7-under-par 65 to take a one stroke lead after two rounds.
Kendall made eight birdies at Bay Hill Club, which played long
but soft because of overnight rains that delayed the start of
the second round by two hours.
Play was suspended at 6:34 p.m. with 20 players still on the
course, none of them with any chance of matching Kendall's 9-under
135.
One stroke behind was Stuart Appleby, coming off his win last
week at the Honda Classic, and Omar Uresti, who started his week
by playing a practice round with Arnold Palmer.
Kendall, who earned his card by finishing in the top 10 on
the Nike Tour money list, gets another chance at being the leader.
He led the Doral-Ryder Open two weeks ago after a first-round
65, then faded with three rounds of 76 in blustery conditions.
"People have asked when you have the lead is it tough
to play, but when I have a good round going I want to make as
many birdies as I can," Kendall said. "You know someone
else is going to do it."
And they did.
Appleby was 10 strokes better than his first round, making
nine birdies and an eagle in a round of 63 that put him at 136.
Phil Mickelson had eight birdies in a round of 65 that left
him two strokes back at 137 with first-round leader Paul Stankowski
and Loren Roberts. Mark O'Meara shot a 66 and was at 138.
Tiger Woods had another tough day striking the ball and was
at 139, while Nick Faldo shot a 70 to get to 3-under 141.
Virtually every pin could be attacked because the greens were
holding even long-iron approaches. Kendall isn't among the long
hitters, but his short game made up for that.
He overcame a sand wedge that spun back 35 feet on the par-5
12th hole by making the putt for birdie, then hit a wedge to 6
feet from over the green to a tight pin on No. 16 for another
birdie.
Kendall had never played Bay Hill until this week. He wanted
to play well early in the season to qualify for Doral and Bay
Hill, getting into the field this week because he was in the top
70 on the money list through last week.
A good finish this week could move him up high enough to qualify
for the Players' Championship next week.
"That would be a big bonus," he said.
Appleby is pleasantly surprised by his own play. Winning for
the first time on the PGA Tour often leads to a letdown - three
of the four first-time winners last spring missed the cut in their
next event.
And Appleby was a candidate after his first-round 73.
"After winning for the first time, it's really draining,"
Mickelson said. "It would have been easy for him to pack
it in, go home and celebrate. What Stuart did was very impressive."
The 25-year-old Australian was 5 under on the par 5s and had
a chance to tie the course record of 62 until failing to save
par from the bunker at the par-3 17th.
"It was a little easier, but not a lot," Appleby
said. "We haven't seen the toughest of Bay Hill yet."
Considering what happened to Kendall at Doral, he could find
out whether he has learned from his experience atop the leaderboard.
DIVOTS: Woods was fined $1,000 for slow play. His threesome
fell a hole behind the group in front on the sixth hole, when
Woods removed both shoes and went into the water - hitting a 5-iron
just right of the green for an up-and-down birdie. He was told
he had two holes to catch up, and was fined on the ninth hole
for taking nearly a minute to play his approach to the green.
... Among those still on the course was Palmer, who was 5 over
for the day and 14 over for the tournament. ... Several players
and caddies are wearing green ribbons as a tribute to Squeeky
Medlen, Nick Price's regular caddie, who is battling leukemia.
Medlen recently had a bone marrow transplant that his body rejected,
but Mike "Fluff" Cowan, the caddie for Tiger Woods,
visited Medley earlier this week and said his spirits were up.
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