Saturday, November 4, 2000
Duval leads Tour Championship;
Tiger, Perry are a shot back
By Ed Sherman
Chicago Tribune (KRT)
ATLANTA—Tiger Woods gets stuck.
He says it happens a lot. Drives him crazy.
He talks about it like a chronic slicer who just knows the upcoming
drive is going into the trees.
Yes, Woods has a swing flaw, even if it
is a microscopic nick on a diamond. When Woods gets “stuck,”
he means the club gets caught behind him on the downswing. It
usually happens when he spins out too quickly with his hips, which
results in hooks or pushes.
Given the way Woods hits the ball, everybody
should try getting stuck. But it is enough to throw Woods off
his game.
Woods got “stuck” for six holes
Friday, starting out 2-over par for the day. But as usual, he
managed to unstick himself, releasing a deluge of birdies.
Woods went 6-under for the final 12 holes
to come in with a 66. At 6-under-par 134, he and Chris Perry (65
on Friday) are one shot behind David Duval (68) after the second
round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.
The run was vintage Woods, who is trying
to become the first player since Sam Snead in 1950 to win 10 PGA
Tour events in a season. His hot streak included an eagle at the
par-5 15th. In no time, Woods went from nearly being out of contention
to staring down Duval in the final group Saturday.
“I didn't get off to the most ideal
start today,” Woods said. “But I hung in there and put
myself right back into the tournament.”
Woods knew what the problem was at the start.
He was getting stuck, and that led to bogeys on the first and
sixth holes. It's a flaw he often works to correct at the practice
range, even after good rounds.
“Yeah, same as always, I just hate
getting stuck,” Woods said. “It's just a fault I have,
and unfortunately, several things cause it.”
Now there is something kind of refreshing
about hearing Woods moan about a swing fault, just like all mortals.
But unlike most mortals, Woods knows how to get himself out of
it during a round.
“Today I kind of knew what I was doing,”
Woods said. “I was just trying to slow down the hips, get
the arms down faster, which enabled me to get the right loft on
it. And from there I hit some really good shots.”
Perry got a firsthand look. It was the second
time he had been paired with Woods.
“It is mind-boggling what this guy
can do with a golf ball,” Perry said. “Some of the shots
he hits are just incredible.”
Perry, though, did more than hold his own—he
beat Woods by a shot. The day was quite a contrast to his first-round
experience. Standing 30th on the money list, making him the last
man in the field, Perry had to play by himself in the opening
round because Jim Furyk withdrew with an injury. Perry noted that
his gallery consisted of his wife and his caddie's wife.
The scene was much different Friday as he
played among the masses who follow Woods. Perry, though, tried
not to get caught up in the swirl.
“When you get paired with the best,
you want to play well too,” Perry said. “I'm sure he
didn't want me to shoot an 80, and I didn't want him to shoot
an 80. It was enjoyable to shoot 65 playing with Tiger.”
Duval would like to do the same Saturday.
The last time he was paired with Woods was during the final round
of the British Open. Duval made a run on the front nine but imploded
over the last nine holes.
Duval hopes it is different this time. For
starters, he won't be playing with a bad back, as was the case
at St. Andrews. The injury eventually caused him to miss the PGA
Championship.
Duval is playing at full strength. But he
doesn't see the pairing as him going up only against Woods.
“Believe it or not, I don't come in
here thinking I have to just beat Tiger,” Duval said. “If
you get caught up competing against one player, you're not going
to win golf tournaments that maybe you should. He certainly is
the standard right now, and I'm going to be excited to be out
there. But it doesn't just go to him. I'm excited to be playing
with everybody.”
(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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