Something to cheer about
Tiger brings back roars, surges into tie for second
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Tiger Woods brought the Valspar Championship to life Friday with his best round in a comeback that is building momentum toward the Masters next month.
Corey Conners was happy to play a quiet afternoon round and hold on to the lead for the second straight day.
The Canadian rookie ran off three birdies before a careless error set him back, and he finished with a 2-under-par 69 for a two-shot advantage after 36 holes. Right on his heels was Woods, who kept a clean card until his final hole and shot a 68.
Conners was on the putting green when Woods and his entourage — officials, security, media and stragglers — walked along the edge, in front of another group waiting to tee off on No. 1 and toward the scoring area.
“I definitely saw that,” Conners said. “I’ve seen that the last few days as well. Pretty cool. Hopefully, I can be in a position where I get some followers Sunday.”
Until that moment, the closest Conners ever got to Woods was at the Masters three years ago, when he watched him on the range. Conners played at Augusta National that year as the U.S. Amateur runner-up. Being close to Woods on the leaderboard is an entirely different dynamic.
Conners was at 6-under 136 and will play in the final group today with Paul Casey (68). Woods and Brandt Snedeker (68) will be in the group in front of them, undoubtedly with thousands of fans lining the fairways and surrounding the greens.
“I don’t think this will be leading, but at least I’m there with a chance going into the
weekend,” Woods said when he finished early Friday. “Today was a good day.”
Woods has been slowed by mistakes, some leading to big numbers. The second round on Innisbrook Golf Resort’s Copperhead Course was all about control of his shots that rarely put him out of position off the tee and especially on the green, where he could attack putts from below the hole.
Just more than five months ago, Woods still didn’t have medical clearance to begin
hitting full shots, much less to play without restrictions. In his fourth PGA Tour event in seven weeks, he looks like a contender.
“I’ve come a long way in that span of time,” he said.
The energy in the gallery was enormous, especially for this sleepy tournament, and toward the end of the round the fans were looking for any reason to cheer.
“The roars are a little louder, and there’s certainly an energy about the gallery that you don’t have anywhere else,”
said Jordan Spieth (71), who missed a cut for the second time this year.
Also headed home were 2016 U.S. Open champion Henrik Stenson (74) and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy (73), who has made just two cuts in four PGA Tour starts this year.
Casey, who has gone nearly four years since his last victory, was on the opposite side of the course as Woods, though he could hear the effects of what the 14-time major winner was doing.
“Feels like the old days,” Casey said.
Kelly Kraft (70) and Ryan Palmer (66) were tied for second with Casey, Snedeker and Woods.
Baylor School graduate Luke List (71) was tied for 20th at 1 under, with fellow former Red Raider Stephan Jaeger (74) making the cut on the number at 3 over. Harris English (75), another Baylor alum was 8 over and will miss the weekend.
Pernice up by three
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Tom Pernice Jr. shot a bogey-free 7-under 64 for a three-shot lead after the opening round of the PGA Tour Champions’ Toshiba Classic.
Pernice, 58, is a five-time winner on the senior tour but has never played particularly well at Newport Beach Country Club. The event, a home game of sorts for the Southern California resident, was off the schedule last year while the clubhouse was renovated.
Seven players were three shots back: David Frost, Scott McCarron, Scott Parel, Fran Quinn, Joey Sindelar, Tommy Tolles and Scott Verplank.
Grillo leads Sharma
NEW DELHI — Emiliano Grillo shot a 4-under 68 to seize a four-stroke lead at the midpoint of the Indian Open.
Grillo made five birdies and a bogey as he moved to 11-under 133 overall, but Shubhankar Sharma (64) charged into second place with the best round of the day.
Sharma — who had been 5 over after his first nine holes of the tournament — had nine birdies Friday, including six on the last nine holes, and his only bogey came on the par-4 seventh.
Pablo Larrazabal (71) and Andrew Johnston (66) were tied for third at 6 under.