Friday, November 10, 2000
World Championship
Price retains lead, Woods
rallies
BY STEPHEN WADE
AP Sports Writer
SOTOGRANDE, Spain (AP) — Nick Price
retained the lead in the American Express Championship Friday
with a second-round par 72, while defending champion Tiger Woods
moved into contention.
On a chilly, windy day in the mountain foothills
above Gibraltar, Price couldn't match the 11 birdies and 63 of
his opening round and was in at 9-under 135.
Woods, trying to become the first player
in 50 years to win 10 times on the tour and the first to break
the $10 million mark in season winnings, putted better than he
did in Thursday's round of 71. He had three birdies and had a
bogey-free round of 69 for 140 despite sharp winds blowing off
the nearby Mediterranean.
Woods again dropped his approach at the
536-yard 17th into the pond guarding the green. In the final round
of this tournament a year ago, he took a triple-bogey 8 at 17,
which forced him into a playoff he won over Miguel Angel Jimenez.
On Thursday, he bogeyed the hole after hitting
into the water. On Friday, after dropping his 9-iron second shot
from 160 yards into the water, he knocked his chip to within 4
feet and holed out.
“I hit such a great shot in there,”
said Woods, who threw his club to the ground like a spear after
yet another shot into the drink. “The problem was I didn't
hit it high enough. The wind actually knocked it down being downwind.
You could see it just kill it and knock it straight down.
“I'm still very pleased. I ground my
way around this golf course. Consequently, I was able to shoot
a nice number and get myself back in the this tournament.”
Japan's Hidemichi Tanaka shot the day's
best round, a 6-under 66, for 137 and second place. Ireland's
Padraig Harrington was at 138 after a 72.
Americans held the next five spots. At 139
were Mark Calcavecchia (67) and Duffy Waldorf (69), with Woods,
Bob May (69) and Chris Perry (72) at 140.
Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, who must win
the $1 million first prize to have a shot at claiming his eighth
straight European money title, got back into the mix with a 67,
putting him at 142.
Montgomerie had an 18-foot birdie putt at
the first hole, chipped in from 100 yards at No. 2 for an eagle,
them got his second hole-in-one in a week, sinking a 4-iron at
the 197-yard 12th.
Last week in the Volvo Masters, he aced
the 14th at Montecastillo in Jerez, Spain.
“It landed six inches short and hopped
in — exactly the same as last week. Amazing,” he said.
In the battle for the European money title,
Darren Clarke leads by $86,000 over Lee Westwood. Montgomerie
trails Clarke by $784,000.
Besides those three, Thomas Bjorn of Denmark
and Michael Campbell of New Zealand also would have a shot at
the season money title by winning Sunday.
Campbell had a second-round 71 for 143,
Clarke a 70 for 144, Westwood a 72 for 144, and Bjorn a 77 for
147.
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