Playing with Tiger a harrowing job
By DENNE H. FREEMAN / AP Sports Writer
IRVING, Texas (AP) - Just call them the "Tiger Trackers."
It's no different at the GTE Byron Nelson than it was at the
Masters - catch Tiger if you can.
At the Masters, Tiger Woods blew the field away by 12 shots
on the fast greens of Augusta National Golf Club.
At the Nelson, the greens aren't as fast and the layouts at
Cottonwood Valley and the TPC at the Four Seasons Resort aren't
as difficult, so the field is packed much closer. Still, the task
is no less daunting for those in pursuit of Tiger.
Woods shared the 36-hole lead Friday with journeyman Lee Rinker,
who birdied the last three holes to tie him at 12-under-par 128.
Rinker, whose best 1997 finish was a 28th at the Doral Ryder
Open, said he'll try not to be intimidated being paired with Woods.
"I'm looking forward to it, what the heck," Rinker
said. "How many other people would like to be playing with
Tiger? He has raised the bar. He makes everybody play that much
better. There is not a hole where par is a good score for him."
Woods has a one-shot lead over Mike Standly and a two-shot
lead over Paul Stankowski and Jim Furyk going into Saturday's
third round.
Standly, who had to go to qualifying school to get on the PGA
Tour this year, said it can be hard being around the huge galleries
following Woods.
"It should be fun," said Standly, who hasn't won
a tournament in four years. "We'll sure be the center of
attention Saturday."
Standly shot a 7-under 63 on the TPC course Friday, including
a 6-under 29 on the back nine.
"It's possible to catch and beat anybody," Standly
said bravely. "I'll never give a tournament away to anybody.
I think Tiger's impact on golf is great. More people are getting
involved in golf than ever before because of him. What other place
would you rather be?"
Stankowski, who won at Hawaii earlier this year and is eighth
on the money list with over $600,000, suffers no illusions in
the Tiger chase.
"He's the best player in the world and he proved it again
today," Stankowski said. "It's a given he'll shoot 6-
or 7-under par on these courses. It's no surprise."
Stankowski, who lives in Irving and uses the TPC course as
his practice ground, shot a 4-under 66 at Cottonwood Valley to
follow his opening 64.
Furyk, the man with the loopy swing and the golden putting
touch, said any player stalking Woods knows it's going to take
two low rounds over the weekend to catch him.
"I don't play the same game as him," Furyk said.
"He's so long off the tee that a lot of us have trouble understanding
exactly where he hits it. I know he's 50 yards ahead of me."
Furyk, who followed an opening 63 with a 3-under 67 on the
TPC course, said he is still spellbound by what Woods did at Augusta.
"It's incredible that someone could win a major by 12
shots," Furyk said. "He's still on a roll even after
taking all those weeks off. If you beat him, you are going to
have to play some exceptional golf."
Furyk said he would rather be paired with Woods than playing
ahead of him.
"The most difficult pairing is being in the group ahead
in front of him," Furyk said. "I was in the group ahead
of him at Las Vegas and everybody kept running up to see what
shot he's going to hit next. You have to deal with the people
herding up.
"But that's the way it was in Arnold Palmer's heyday.
We'll just have to learn to deal with it."
|
