Saturday, May 27, 2000
Tiger attack: Woods' 63 gives
him Memorial lead
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) - With no wind, there
was no need for Tiger Woods to play it safe Friday in the Memorial
Tournament.
One day after he tiptoed his way across
Muirfield Village, Woods attacked a vulnerable course with a 9-under
63, closing with a chip-in for par and two tap-in birdies that
gave him a one-stroke lead over Harrison Frazar.
On a warm, lazy day at Muirfield Village,
Woods came to life with four straight birdies on the front nine,
and then really brought the gallery to its feet with a finish
that put him in great position to become the first repeat champion
in the 25-year history of the tournament.
After a delicate blast from the sand barely
climbed out of the bunker on the par-3 16th, he holed the chip
for par, pointing his finger at the cup as the ball disappeared.
A 9-iron into No. 17 stopped a foot from
the hole, and his 6-iron into the 18th spun back some 15 feet
before settling about 18 inches from the cup for another birdie.
Through 36 holes, Woods was at 10-under
134.
"I hit a few solid shots, made a few
putts here and there, and it came out to 63," Woods said,
shrugging his shoulders with a smile.
The way he's been playing, perhaps a 63
is rather routine.
Until then, the best round of an easy day
for scoring belonged to Ernie Els, who holed two bunker shots
for birdie in a round of 64 that shot him into contention at 7-under
137.
Because of a storm system expected Saturday
afternoon, the third round will feature threesomes going off on
both tees about three hours early with hopes of finishing around
3 p.m. CBS Sports will televise the round on tape delay.
That puts Woods and Els together again for
the first time since their sensational, season-opening show in
Hawaii, where they each made eagle on the 72nd hole and Woods
won on the second playoff hole with a 40-foot birdie putt.
Els came close in the Masters, then squandered
a lead the next week at Hilton Head. He hasn't won in over a year,
but his game looks like it's rounding into form with the U.S.
Open just three weeks away.
"The way I'm playing, I've got to think
about winning now," Els said. "I've got to go out there
and do my thing. I've got a lot of chances to come, but I'll try
to take the first chance that comes my way."
Canadian Mike Weir (65) was among five players
at 5-under 139, while Gary Nicklaus played another solid round
(68) and was another stroke back, hopeful for a memorable weekend
in the tournament his father founded when Gary was still in grade
school.
Jack Nicklaus, despite bogeys on the final
two holes, had a 73, but that was just enough to get in two more
rounds on the weekend.
Without the wind, Muirfield played three
strokes easier than the first round as 54 players broke par, compared
to just 18 on Thursday.
No one had a round quite like Woods.
Frazar was already in with a 69 and comfortably
leading when Woods teed off.
"I saw some of the numbers guys were
putting up and I said, 'I'd like to get into the mix of that.'
And I was able to do that," Woods said. "You could go
ahead and attack."
It began with four straight birdies, starting
on the par-5 fifth. Wood missed a 4-foot birdie on the par-5 11th,
but that only seemed to get him going as his irons began tracking
to the flags like lasers.
"I've always been a player who could
string shots together," Woods said. "Once I get going,
I tend to keep it going."
His only threat of bogey came on No. 16,
where a nearly perfect bunker shot came up 6 inches short of its
intended target and stayed in the first cut.
"I figured I had some pretty good luck
around this golf course chipping in," said Woods, who holed
a chip in the final round last year on his way to a two-stroke
victory. "I figured I might as well chip this in."
Woods and Els will also get the company
of Frazar, who had it at 10 under until a bogey late in the round
dropped him to 135.
Frazar gave up golf after college because
he figured if he couldn't beat his childhood pal and University
of Texas roommate - Justin Leonard - then how was he going to
compete against the best in the world?
"I didn't know that he (Leonard) was
going to become one of the best players in the world," Frazar
said.
Frazar left the real estate development
business, went from the Nike Tour to the big leagues in two years
and has proven to himself that he finally belongs. One thing that
has helped is hanging out with proven stars - Leonard, Davis Love
III, Fred Couples.
"You want to go to dinner with people
that are talking about the putts they made, not the ones they
missed," Frazar said. "You want to go to dinner with
people that are talking about what it felt like when they won
a tournament, not when they fell apart and missed the cut."
In that case, he can't argue with who will
join him for brunch on the first tee Saturday.
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