Sunday, July 23, 2000
Woods plays for history: 67
opens 6-shot lead, threatens tournament records
By Rick Morrissey
Chicago Tribune
(KRT)
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - They tried. They
really did try.
They came at Tiger Woods again and again
Saturday, at least early on, lapping against his feet with the
intention of sweeping him away. But Woods with a lead can be an
immovable thing, and soon enough they retreated with the tide.
The British Open is Woods' unless something
shocking happens, something along the lines of an emergency appendectomy
or a spontaneous combustion. He shot a 67 on Saturday to take
a six-stroke lead at St. Andrews and in the process put the rest
of the field in its place, which is to say, anywhere but first.
A victory Sunday would give Woods a career
Grand Slam at the tender age of 24 and three major titles in the
past 11 months. He is at 16-under 200 after three rounds and Nick
Faldo's 1990 British Open record of 18-under looks as vulnerable
as a puppy on a busy street.
In a shocking development, Woods did pick
up a bogey (on No. 2) after 63 straight holes without one in major
championships. Then he birdied the next hole.
He also bogeyed No. 17. Then he birdied
18, rolling in a 10-footer and finally allowing himself a fist
pump. See? There is some emotion in what seems to be a robotic
dismissal of his opponents.
"I haven't really played that aggressively,
to be honest with you," he said. "Pin locations are
such where it is hard to play aggressive. What are you going to
do?"
Woods will be paired Sunday with would-be
rival David Duval, who is tied for second with Thomas Bjorn of
Denmark at 10-under 206. It's an artificial rivalry that has fallen
apart in the past under the weight of Woods' talent and Duval's
sullenness. But here comes the showdown again, uneven as it seems.
Duval, for one, is excited:
"You get to look him in the eye. If
I can swing the golf club like I have the last few days and putt
like I have, I can show him I have a little game going right now
too."
If Woods shoots his average score for the
year, which is about 68, Duval would have to shoot 62 just to
tie. He shot 66 on Saturday.
"I'm going to enjoy it," Woods
said. "David and I are great friends. I know the public has
been wanting to have No. 1 and No. 2 playing each other in the
final round of a major."
Woods normally closes the deal. Of the 18
times he has led going into the final round during his pro career,
he has won 16 times. The current lead ties for the third largest
he has had going into a Sunday round.
"There's no doubt we're playing for
second place," Bjorn said.
The field tried to offer some resistance
Saturday, it really did. Woods started the day with a three-stroke
lead, but others took turns whittling at it. His playing partner,
David Toms, got to 9-under with a birdie on No. 5 while Woods
was at 11-under.
With Woods approaching the green at No.
8, Ernie Els registered a birdie to get to 10-under at the 10th
hole, one stroke off the lead. Not so fast. Woods tapped in a
3-footer to go to 12-under. He hit a 15-foot putt at No. 9 to
reach 13-under. Els double-bogeyed No. 12 to drop to 8-under.
Woods birdied Nos. 12, 13 and 14, tapping
just enough on the gas pedal to get some separation from the pack.
He nearly made an eagle putt on the par-5, 581-yard 14th hole
and settled for birdie.
If Woods squints, he'll be able to see the
rest of the field.
"Anytime you have a lead you feel a
little pressure," he said. "The bigger the lead the
more pressure you feel. Obviously if you don't end up winning
then I think you're going to feel not so good about yourself."
Toms, Loren Roberts and Darren Clarke are
tied for fourth at 9-under 207. Steve Flesch got as low as 10-under
but faded to 8-under. They are all distant planets.
Duval has struggled with a back injury since
the U.S. Open in June and stood during a news conference Saturday
to ease the pain. But he had no problems on the course, hitting
his irons almost flawlessly and making six birdies and no bogeys.
He knows he's a long way from Tiger World,
where birdies fly free and bogeys are an endangered species. But
he is happy to visit, even for an afternoon.
"It will be a circus," Duval said.
"It will be exciting. It will be a slugfest."
(c) 2000, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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