Woods, Rose lead at East Lake
Double bogey on 16 not enough to derail Tiger’s quest for title
ATLANTA — Not even one bad hole could keep Tiger Woods from a share of the 36-hole lead for the first time in more than three years.
Woods hit his stride Friday on the back nine at East Lake with three birdies and an 8-foot par save over four straight holes, giving him a two-shot lead as he started to build separation against a 30man field at the PGA Tour Championship.
One tee shot brought him back. He went from the deep rough left of the 16th fairway to a plugged lie in a bunker that left him no choice but play away from the green, and he missed a 12-foot putt to take double bogey. A two-putt birdie on the final hole gave him a 2-under-par 68 and a tie with Justin Rose.
Woods considers it a victory to have made it to the Tour Championship coming off a fourth back surgery. He’s not ready to think about the prospect of ending his remark-
able comeback season with his 80th PGA Tour victory.
“We have a long way to go,” Woods said. “This is not an easy golf course.”
Rose, in his debut at No. 1 in the world, played in the group ahead of Woods and could hear all about it with an enormous gallery right behind him. He birdied three of his last six holes to offset a bogey for a 67. They were at 7-under 133.
Rory Mcilroy made enough birdies to offset his mistakes in a round of 68. He was two shots behind.
Woods last shared the 36-hole lead at the Wyndham Championship in 2015. He wound up in a tie for 10th and then was gone from the PGA Tour for the next 17 months while he recovered from two back surgeries.
One more back surgery followed that brief return in 2017, and it’s been a slow road back.
In the Fedex Cup finale, however, Woods is picking up momentum. He opened with a 62 at Aronimink two weeks ago on a rain-softened course and stayed within five shots of the lead the rest of the way until he tied for sixth.
Now his name has been atop the leaderboard for consecutive rounds, and it’s not an accident.
East Lake, with its shaggy Bermuda rough and dry, fast conditions, requires nothing short of precision. Woods wasn’t nearly as sharp as he was Thursday when he started with a 65, but he missed in the right spots. Despite hitting only two fairways through 11 holes, he wasn’t losing much ground.
At Vilamoura, Portugal, Englishman Oliver Fisher scored the first sub-60 round in the tour’s 46-year history, firing a 12-under 59 for a 12-under 130 total and a second-round tie for the Portugal Masters lead with Eddie Pepperell (66) and Lucas Herbert (67).
At Sioux Falls, S.D., Steve Stricker shot a 7-under 63 to share the first-round lead in the Sanford International with Jerry Smith, Brandt Jobe and David Mckenzie.
European PGA: Champions: