Fury embracing role as LV show headliner
Tyson Fury knew he’d be here.
Well before he started fighting, breezed to an unbeaten professional record and survived 12 rounds against vaunted WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
“Before I’d ever laced a pair of boxing gloves up, I was 100 percent sure I’d be headlining in Vegas,” Fury said. “That’s why I’d never come here until I came here this time.”
As the main attraction and one of the world’s best heavyweights.
Fury, 30, is relishing his first fight in Las Vegas — and all the accompanying fanfare — as he prepares to defend his lineal heavyweight championship against Tom
a pretty deep divot. We were a little indecisive what we were going to do. We tried to take a little less club and hit it hard and play out to the safetotheright,anditwas nice to knock it in.”
His 6-under 65 matched the U.S. Open record at Pebble Beach for the second time in two days, a testamenttoacoursethatwas only slightly firmer, but still soft enough under a heavy marine layer with so much condensation it felt like a list mist.
Woodland was at 9-under 133, beating by one shot the 36-hole record at Pebble Beach that Tiger Woods set in his record romp in 2000.
The difference: Woods had a six-shot lead in 2000. Woodland’s margin was only two shots over Justin Rose, who had a 70. Louis Oosthuizen didn’t make a par on the back nine until the final hole in his wild round of 70 and was three shots behind.
The weekend remains a mystery.
Rory Mcilroy, who kept it together right when it looked as though his round was getting away from him, felt the course was a little faster and could really speed up on the weekend. He was among 10 players separated by five shots halfway throughau.s.openthatso far has run smoothly.
That list includes two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka, who made two late birdies for another 69 and was five shots behind.
“I feel great. I’m excited. I’ve got a chance. That’s all you can ask for,” Koepka said. “I just need to make a few putts. Sometimes the hole just needs to open up. If I can get off to a good start tomorrow, have that feeling where the hole’s opening up, it could be a fun round.”
The list does not include Woods.
He made a 10-foot birdie on No. 11, his second hole of the round, and made nothing else the rest of the day. That birdie was the only putt he made longer than 5 feet, and he closed with back-toback bogeys for a 72 to finish nine shots behind.
For the second straight day, Pebble Beach was there for the taking, but only for good, smart shots.
Mcilroy also made a run at the lead until a bogey from the bunker on the 13th, and a mess on the par-5 14th. With the ball slightly above his feet for his wedge, and knowing that anything left of the pin would go down a slope with gnarly rough, he left it out to the right and watched it roll off the green and into the fairway. Then, he dumped a shot into the bunker and walked off with double bogey.
He answered with a pair of birdies.
“Those were huge to get me back into the tournament,” Mcilroy said.
Phil Mickelson revved up the crowd with three birdies in the opening six holes, and six birdies for the round. He still couldn’t stop the mistakes, however, and Lefty had to settle for a 69. He was eight shots behind, needing to get a little closer in range to seriously think about a shot at the career Grand Slam.