Woods shoots 61 at Buick Open
Tiger Woods had plenty of reasons to pump his right fist and flash an ear-to-ear grin.
Woods shot an 11-under-par 61 Friday in the second round of the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich., matching the best score of his career and the tournament record. He had consecutive eagles for the first time in a PGA Tour event in an eagle-eagle-birdie-birdie stretch.
“That’s the best golfer in the world playing at his best,” said Fred Funk, who was in Woods’ group.
Woods went into the weekend at 12-under 132, one shot behind defending champion Vijay Singh (66). The top two players in the world rankings will be paired in the final group today.
“It’s going to be fun, but there are two rounds to go,” Woods said. “We can’t just sit still with a bunch of pars. We have to keep making birdies.”
Last year, Singh needed to reach 23 under to beat John Daly by a stroke and Woods by two.
Craig Barlow (67) was alone in third, two shots behind Singh. Funk (66) was in a group of six at 134.
Woods’ previous 61s came at the 2000 NEC Invitational and the 1999 Byron Nelson Classic, both par-70 courses. While shooting 11 under for the first time, he tied the Buick Open record Billy Mayfair set in 2001.
If Woods had birdied his final two holes, he would have finished with a 59, tying the PGA Tour record shared by three players. David Duval was the last to reach golf’s magic number, in the final round of the 1999 Bob Hope Classic.
“Yeah, it crosses your mind,” Woods said.
He became the third PGA Tour player to make consecutive eagles this year. Lee Janzen and Tag Ridings did it at the Bob Hope Classic. He is the fourth to do it at the Buick Open, a tournament that started in 1958.
Woods opened at Warwick Hills with a 71, needing a 68 to avoid missing the cut. He missed the cut in May at the Byron Nelson Championship, the first time in more than seven years he left a tournament before it ended.
The Buick Open cut was 4 under.
Woods is playing in his first tournament in two weeks, since his five-shot victory at the British Open, and two weeks before the PGA Championship, where he’ll shoot for his 11th major title.
Woods said he got nothing out of his first round, but fell short of saying he got everything out of the second.
“If you want to nitpick, I left two putts short and missed a 4-footer,” he said.
First-round leader Nick Watney (71) fell apart after a strong start.
The PGA Tour rookie started 8 under and was tied with Singh for the lead at 13 under after five holes. Watney collapsed by going 5 over in a six-hole stretch, but still snapped a seven-tournament streak of missing the cut.
Another feel-good story took a turn for the worse in the second round. Billy McKay, a 17-year-old amateur playing in his hometown, tied Woods with a 71 on Thursday only to miss the cut after a second-round 84.
Jang retains Women’s British lead
Jeong Jang took a four-stroke lead into the weekend at the Women’s British Open in Southport, England, after a second-round 66, while Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie fell eight shots back.
The second-round leader is seeking her first LPGA Tour victory in six years as a pro. The 25-year-old South Korean is determined to limit the distractions of leading the strongest field in women’s golf, including two of its biggest names.
“I just need to think about my golf, about the golf course and I think I will be OK,” Jang said. “But it will be hard.
“This course, it’s kind of scary so I have to pay attention.”
Jang, who led by one overnight, birdied four consecutive holes starting with No. 4 and added three more after the turn, holing putts from 15 feet or less. Her only blemish was when she left her approach 20 yards short of the eighth green and then missed a 10-foot par putt.
Jang’s 6-under round put her at 10-under 134, a Women’s British Open 36-hole record since the event became a major five years ago.
Her closest rival was Swedish amateur Louise Stahle, who shot 65, while Cristie Kerr’s 66 left her another stroke back at 5-under 139.
Wie recovered from a first-round 75 in the fickle English weather to post a 67, while Sorenstam’s 69 also kept her in contention at 2-under 142.
Wie was frustrated at shooting her second-best round in a major, yet still fell further behind the leader. She made seven birdies, including three over the last four holes.
“I’m under par right now,” said the 15-year-old Hawaiian amateur. “We still have two more days and there’s a lot happening, and a lot that’s going to happen. I’m just really happy with how I played today. But it could have been better. I missed quite a few putts out there.”
Chasing her third major of the season and 10th overall, Sorenstam collected three birdies in a bogey-free round to join a group of five tied for eighth.
Three tied atop Senior Open board
On the day Arnold Palmer bowed out of his final major championship, Tom Watson took a big step toward winning yet another.
Watson, chasing his second senior major in as many weeks, shot a 6-under 65 and was tied with Craig Stadler and Loren Roberts for the second-round lead in the U.S. Senior Open in Kettering, Ohio.
The leaders were upstaged by a tired Palmer’s post-round declaration that he would no longer play in any major championships. In his 50 years of Grand Slam competition, Palmer won seven majors and added five as a senior.
“My tournaments are getting down to a very few,” Palmer said after completing an 81 that left him at 166, missing the cut by 11 strokes. “As far as trying to compete in major championships such as the Open and other tournaments, this is it. I’m through doing it. I’m not going to do it anymore.”
Tears glistened in his eyes as he waved, doffed his visor and even bowed to the huge gallery which gave him a standing ovation as he finished his round.
Watson, Stadler and Roberts – all of whom finished their rounds hours before Palmer’s emotional goodbye – were at 9-under 133, matching the tournament record for lowest score through 36 holes.
“It’s perfect conditions,” Watson said. “The greens are soft, so it’s easy to get the ball to stay by the hole. These greens are really holding – they’re holding a little bit too much, probably.”
Watson began the day four shots behind Stadler, who tied the Senior Open’s first-round record with a 64.
Watson, who lost in a playoff to Don Pooley in the Senior Open three years ago, hit four shots within a foot for birdies, but fell back into a tie for the lead with a bogey on his last hole.
Roberts, playing in just his second tournament for the over-50 set, followed an opening 66 with a 67 that included five birdies and a bogey.
Stadler, a former Masters winner with 13 PGA Tour and eight Champions Tour victories, was even through 12 holes, but birdied the par-3 13th and the par-4 18th – holing a 50-foot putt – to pull into the three-way tie for the top spot. He shot a 69.
Wayne Levi, who hit all but one fairway in two days, shot a 67 on the heels of an opening 68 and was two strokes back. Des Smyth, who lost to Watson in the playoff last week, shot a 66 and was tied with Raymond Floyd at 136.
Knee surgery ends Els’ season
Ernie Els will miss the rest of the golf season following knee surgery, his management team said.
The third-ranked South African had surgery on his left knee Thursday after sustaining an injury while on a sailing holiday last week, a spokesman for International Sports Management said.
On his doctor’s recommendation, Els has withdrawn from his tournament schedule. There was no indication how long Els would be out of action.