Woods improves with bogey-free 2nd round
Tiger Woods saved par from the dunes with a shot so good that two spectators ran over and scooped up sand for a souvenir.
It also served as motivation Friday at the Hero World Challenge. The tee shot on the par-3 eighth that landed next to a bush was so bad that Woods said he told caddie Joe LaCava after his par putt, “I’m not dropping a shot.” And he didn’t. Woods capped a bogeyfree round with an even more unlikely par save on the 16th hole. What stood out on a balmy day at Albany in Nassau, Bahamas, was a sevenhole stretch in the middle of the round in which he never missed a shot. It led to enough birdies for a 7-under 65, leaving him six shots behind and in a tie for ninth in the 17-man field.
His golf was as good as it was Thursday, his first competition in 15 months, only this time he eliminated the mistakes.
“I wanted to keep that card clean,” Woods said. “I don’t know what it is about playing and competing, but keeping cards clean, there’s something really special. And it feels pretty good about doing that.”
And he did it quickly, in just under three hours.
Justin Rose, who opened with a 74, withdrew with back problems. That left Woods as a single, and when he realized there would not be much wind, he felt he could play just as well without a marker (typically the club pro) to get a feel for how various shots might be affected.
He was on his own and moving in the right direction.
The par save on No. 8 and a wedge to tap-in range on the No. 9 allowed him to make the turn in 33, just like Thursday. The difference was how he finished.
After pounding a drive down with the wind at his back on the par-5 11th — he had to carry a bunker 290 yards away — he switch to a 5-iron to play away from a bunker to the right of the green, making sure he would have the right angle to the pin. It was right where he was aiming, a yard off the green, setting up an easy two-putt birdie. He followed that with a 6-iron to a foot for birdie on the 12th, a 10-foot birdie putt on the 14th and a two-putt birdie on the par-5 15th.
Other tournaments
Australian PGA Championship: Andrew Dodt shot a 5under 67 to take a two-stroke lead over fellow Australian Ashley Hall in the European Tour event at Gold Coast, Australia. Dodt had a 12-under 132 total at Royal Pines Resort. Hall shot a 69. Australian star Adam Scott (6) and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox (69) were 8 under. American Harold Varner III (72) was 7 under.
Alfred Dunhill Championship: South Africa’s Brandon Stone closed with an eagle to take the lead in the European Tour event after needing treatment for a back injury midway through the round. Stone shot a 6-under 66 to reach 11-under 133 at Leopard Creek in Malelane, South Africa. Defending champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa and Chris Hanson of England were second. Schwartzel had a 68m and Hanson shot 65.