Sunday, June 18, 2000
Woods out to make history in
U.S. Open
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) - There might
not be any more scoring records for Tiger Woods, just a U.S. Open
championship.
Despite hitting into the Pacific and cussing
up a storm on the final hole of his second round, Woods broke
a 97-year U.S. Open record by taking a six-stroke lead after 36
holes at Pebble Beach.
And right when it looked as if he might
need every one of them, Woods pulled off one amazing shot after
another, and began to make this U.S. Open look a lot like his
12-stroke romp in the '97 Masters.
Woods, who threatened to become only the
second player to reach double digits in relation to par in U.S.
Open history, had his assault on Pebble Beach slowed by whipping
winds that finally made the Open live up to its reputation as
the toughest test in golf.
All that did was enhance his reputation
as the best player in the world.
Woods had a triple bogey on the third hole,
twice chopping out of the gnarly collar around a bunker, and finally
showed signs of a struggle. Still, he maintained a sizable lead
because everyone else was having the same problems.
Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain and Thomas
Bjorn of Denmark, who started the third round six strokes off
the pace, quickly dropped out of sight.
Woods was even par on the front nine, still
8 under for the tournament and the only player under par.
By a mile.
With one foot in the bunker and his ball
in thick grass around the lip of a bunker, Woods blasted it out
to 10 feet on the par-5 sixth for a birdie. He then holed another
10-footer on No. 7 to return to 8 under for the tournament, and
build his lead to nine strokes.
The 54-hole record for largest lead was
seven strokes, by James Barnes in 1921.
After a bogey on No. 8 from the left rough
- no crime compared with what happened to Colin Montgomerie and
Sergio Garcia - Woods holed a 15-footer for birdie on No. 9, which
was playing as the toughest hole on the course.
The clubhouse leader was Ernie Els, who
had a 3-under 68 on a day he was the only player on the course
to break par. He was at 215, still nine shots behind Woods. But
in one respect, the Big Easy was in the best place - off the course.
"I was fortunate to play the first
five holes without any wind," Els said. "I got a big
break this morning. We've waited all week for this."
But he wasn't sure if it would be enough
to catch Woods.
"It's easy to shoot 78 or 79 in weather
like this," Els said. "I need the breeze to catch him."
The best hope was for Woods to repeat history,
not make it.
The last time the U.S. Open was played along
the rugged coastline on the Monterey Peninsula, Gil Morgan reached
12 under after seven holes of the third round. Then, the wind
kicked up and the white caps in the blue Pacific raged, and Morgan
came undone.
He played his next seven holes in 7 over,
lost his seven-stroke lead and eventually the tournament.
"Now, Gil Morgan and Tiger Woods are
not the same players," Justin Leonard said. "But it
has happened before."
Woods was at 8-under 134 through two rounds
and had the largest 36-hole lead in the 106-year history of the
U.S. Open. The previous mark was five strokes, set by Willie Anderson
in 1903.
Woods' 134 tied the U.S. Open record first
set by Jack Nicklaus in 1980.
In the six hours before Woods teed off in
the third round, the only question was how much lower he could
go, how much more distance he could put between himself and the
rest of the field.
"Typically in the U.S. Open, everybody
always comes back," Phil Mickelson said. "You have a
little different sense of that with Tiger, but there's nothing
we can do about it."
Because of fog that wiped out six hours
of play the first two days, Woods had to return to Pebble Beach
at 6:30 a.m. to finish his second round, and he teed off at 3:19
PDT realizing that the value of par has been restored.
David Duval, the No. 2 player in the world,
would not concede the U.S. Open was all but over.
"But every hole that passes, it's getting
awfully close," Duval said. "I don't think anyone expects
him to shoot 75-75 on the weekend."
The field was trimmed to 63 players after
the second round was completed, which is abnormally low because
the cut is the top 60 players plus anyone within 10 strokes of
the lead. Only 17 players were within 10 strokes of Woods.
"The only thing that could stop Tiger
from winning is Tiger," said Jesper Parnevik, who was paired
with him for the first two rounds.
Pebble Beach might still have a say in that.
Montgomerie required two swings out of the
rough around the eighth green to move the ball the length of his
wedge, taking quadruple bogey. He finished with a 79. Garcia also
took an 8 on the same hole and wound up with an 81. Jim Furyk
birdied the first hole and nothing else, signing for an 84.
Those were among 10 scores already in the
80s, with more on the way.
The best Duval could manage in the third
round was a 74, which put him at 7-over 220. Justin Leonard had
a 75 and was another stroke back.
Those closest to the lead - if eight strokes
can be considered close - have to catch a player who appeared
to handle the tough conditions as easily as the tame ones.
"The key is to play consistent golf.
In a U.S. Open, that's what you need to do," Woods said.
"And so far, I've been able to do that."
Despite the huge lead, Woods was far from
happy while finishing his second round Saturday morning.
He snatched up a tiny red flag that marked
his ball in the rough on No. 3, flung his wedge on the next hole
when his aggressive approach came up short and into a bunker.
He spewed out a string of expletives when he pulled his drive
into the ocean on the closing hole.
Woods later apologized for his language,
but perhaps he realized what awaited. In this kind of weather,
no lead is safe until Sunday afternoon when it's over - unless
Woods is on top of his game.
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