Triple-birdie lifts Tiger
TIGER Woods added some punch to his putter and the result was a four-under par 66 second round, including birdies on the final three holes, to move into contention at the PGA National.
The world No.1, hosting his inaugural tournament in his first event since becoming a father, bounced back from an opening 73 to stand on one-under par 139, six off the lead after 36 holes at Congressional Country Club.
“I’m back in the tournament and hopefully I can shoot another round in the 60s tomorrow and move my way up the board,” Woods said.
“I feel like I at least gave myself
a chance where if I play two good rounds I have a chance of winning the tournament, instead of having to play one great round or even two great rounds to get myself into that same position.”
Woods spent 45 minutes on the practice greens yesterday (AEST) adding weight to his putter, searching for more heft after putting woes in his first competitive round since daughter Sam Alexis was born June 18.
“I did some altering on my putter. I didn’t bend it,” Woods said. “I just put some lead tape on it and made it a little bit heavier, because the greens were a touch on the slow side, and had more of a weighty putter.
“I hit it about as good as I did yesterday. Only difference is I made a few more putts.”
Starting at the 10th hole, Woods birdied the 12th, took a bogey at the 15th but answered with a birdie at 16. He birdied the 1st but made a tough five-foot bogey putt at the 6th after sending his approach over the green.
Then came his impressive closing birdie run, a 12-foot putt at the 7th, an five-footer at the 8th and 12-footer at the 9th.
“I made that good save on six for bogey and then I just tried to keep that positive momentum going and I hit good shot after good shot on the last three holes, and lo and behold, three birdies in a row,” Woods said.
“It always makes dinner taste a little bit better and always makes you feel as if your day ended correctly. You may not have played well all day. If you seem to birdie the last hole it kind of puts all that kind of away somehow.
“To end up on three was even better.”
Woods shared 77th after the first round after making the cut in the 120-man invitational was a real concern. Now he might just take home the $US1.08 million ($1.26 million) top prize at the $US6 million ($6.99 million) event.
“I was just trying to get myself back in the tournament. I didn’t know what the cut was going to be. I was just trying to get to even par or under,” Woods said. “It was nice to get it under par. I feel like I did some good work.”
Woods expects hardening greens and brisk breezes to raise the challenge on a US Open-esque course to another level come the weekend.
“I was surprised the greens were this soft. If we can dry them out a little bit over the next couple of days, I don’t think the scores will be going too much lower,” Woods said.
“With the wind being up, it will be a pretty good test, because it gets in these trees and starts swirling and it gets hard to pick out which way it’s coming from. You can hit a good shot and just get just a completely bad break.”
Australian Stuart Appleby, a neighbour and close friend of Woods who shared the lead after 36 holes, said Woods is handling the responsibilities of fatherhood and tournament host without major headaches.
“People would love to think Tiger has got issues, problems or whatever, but he’s a normal guy, got his life very well balanced and understands he will now have to understand even more about personal life and commitments to family,” he said.
“It’s great for the top of the Tour to have someone like that who isn’t ‘blinging’ it up all over the place and saying and doing silly things. He has got his head screwed on well.”
Agence France-Presse