Colonial course was the true tiger Sunday
By MARK BABINECK Associated Press Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - David Frost usually doesn't watch
leader boards while he's playing. With junior juggernaut Tiger
Woods prowling behind him Sunday, the veteran made an exception.
"Today I said, 'To hell with it,' " said Frost, who
said he became emboldened on the back nine of the MasterCard Colonial
when he saw himself a stroke ahead of the red-hot 21-year-old.
"It actually calmed me down a bit."
When Frost glanced at the scores on the 14th hole, Woods still
was reeling from a waterlogged double-bogey on No. 9. Another
bogey on the 10th landed Woods two strokes off David Ogrin's lead
and one behind Frost.
Like Frost, Ogrin went out of his way to emphasize that his
only opponent was the Colonial, where stiff breezes, firm turf
and draining heat made conditions suddenly treacherous after three
days of low scores.
"I have about as much chance of matching Tiger shot-for-shot
as I would matching Nolan Ryan fastball-for-fastball," said
Ogrin, who along with Brad Faxon finished two strokes off of Frost's
15-under pace. Woods and Paul Goydos were three back.
Woods and Ogrin each shot two-over 72's after three rounds
in the 60s. Woods had shot 10 straight rounds below par since
a poor first day of the Masters, which he went on to dominate.
Frost rebounded from three shots down at one point Sunday.
He played two groups ahead of the gallery circus that paraded
with Woods and the easygoing Ogrin, who drew a sometimes boisterous
following of fellow Texas A&M exes.
"Playing in the eye of the hurricane was just fine,"
said Ogrin, who likened being in a Woods pairing to listening
to a surround-sound stereo. "The Aggies screaming from the
balconies don't bother me, but it annoyed the heck out of everyone
else."
Woods had outscored his previous 16 playing partners until
Ogrin's calm performance Sunday. Rather than call their finish
a tie, Ogrin pronounced it a rousing victory for the unforgiving
course Ben Hogan once helped redesign.
"The scores were pretty Colonial-like all the sudden,"
Ogrin said.
Defiant in defeat, Woods refused to concede to the old links.
"It was just some mechanical problems," he said in
comments distributed by the PGA. "I've had 'em all week,
and they finally caught up with me."
Woods, whose double-bogeys ruined a bid for this third consecutive
victory, declined to talk with reporters after the final round.
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