Move over Tiger, make way for Cougar

THE PGA Tour event that doesn’t doesn have Tiger Woods this year instead has the Leaping Cougar.

That’s a childhood nickname for Joel Dahmen, who took advantage off of gentle l morning conditions d yesterday on a tough Copperhead course at Palm Harbour near Tampa, Florida, l d f for a five- f five-under under d 66 and a share of f the lead with Austrian- Austrian-born born Sepp Straka in the Valspar Championship.

The tournament, trying to have a littlel little l funf fun duringd during Spring Break k in Florida, allowed players to put whatever name they wanted on the back of their caddie’s bib. Dahmen, a cancer survivor who keeps golf f and lifef life in perspective, went with the name he was given a as s a boy in Washington state when he was part of a Scouts group.

Dahmen doesn’t leap. “I’ve n never seen a cougar,” h he said. d His f father h brought some childhood memorabilia to the Phoenix Open. Dahmen saw the “Leaping Cougar” label, a tour friend got hold of it and the cat was out off of the bag. “I figuredf figured the rest of f the world should see it this week,” Dahmen said.

Dahmen is playing a course he had never seen for the third straight week. But he has been playing well of late and considers himself a streaky player.

Of f the 28 rounds in the 60s, only eight were in the afternoon. f One of f them belonged to Dustin Johnson, the No.1 player in the world, who had not seen this course in nine years. He had a 69, with one birdie coming on the 14th hole with a big drive and a three- three-wood wood dead into the wind to 10m.