Malnati ahead by 1 as Woods survives cut
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Peter Malnati and Tiger Woods both had reason to celebrate on the ninth green at Quail Hollow at the end of their rounds. Malnati was coming off two straight birdies to take the lead Friday in the Wells Fargo Championship when he put his 5-iron in a deep bunker to the right, with the green running away from him. He was trying to blast out to 15 feet, but he got the club too much under the ball and feared for the worst until it cleared the lip by inches.
Malnati emphatically wiped his hand across his brow, made the 6-foot par putt for a 3-under 68 and had a one-shot lead over Jason Day and Aaron Wise.
Hours earlier, Woods stood over an 18-foot putt on No. 9, his final hole of another ordinary round that up until then featured no birdies. He finally made one, and stretched out both hands in mock celebration when it dropped. Never mind that it was the only putt he made longer than 5 feet. Or that he was nine shots out of the lead in a tie for 48th, his worst position through 36 holes in his last five tournaments. At least he was still playing on the weekend at Quail Hollow.
Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson also had to sweat it out. McIlroy, the only two-time winner at the Wells Fargo Championship, celebrated his 29th birthday on Friday by matching his worst score at Quail Hollow with a 76, including three bogeys over the last five holes. Mickelson wasn’t that wild — three bogeys, two birdies, another 72 — and he made the cut with a shot to spare.
THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Bernhard Langer felt like his game was rounding into form after a slow start to the year by his lofty standards, and it all came together on a calm and humid day at The Woodlands Country Club. The 60-year-old Langer, seeking his first victory of the year after seven wins in 2017, shot a course-record 9-under 63 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead at the Insperity Invitational.
THE COLONY, Texas — Sung Hyun Park got to 6-under through 14 holes before play was halted by darkness in the weatherdelayed first round of the abbreviated LPGA Texas Classic on Friday.