The fog disappears, Tiger Woods moves in for the kill

By Clifton Brown

PEBBLE BEACH (CALIFORNIA), JUNE 17. The fog disappeared, they played until darkness, and Tiger Woods kept making birdies.

Punctuating his day with a fist pump and a 35-foot putt for birdie at No. 12, Woods moved to nine under par through 12 holes and led the U.S. Open on Friday by three strokes when play was suspended because of darkness. And Woods, who was the first-round leader after his opening 65, was threatening to separate himself from the field.

Miguel Angel Jimenez was in second place at 6-under through seven holes, Thomas Bjorn of Denmark was two under through 16 holes, and Angel Cabrera of Argentina was two under through nine holes.

Woods continued to play brilliantly, making birdies on his last two holes Friday - a 4-foot putt for birdie at No. 11, followed by his long putt for birdie at No. 12 to end the day. Woods also muscled a shot out of the rough at No. 6 that lead to a birdie, made a 20-foot putt for birdie on No. 3 and sank a 15- foot putt for birdie at No. 7.

Meanwhile, Jimenez was steady, making par on his first five holes, then making an 8-foot birdie putt at the par 5 No. 6. Bobby Clampett, a 40-year-old golf analyst for CBS who grew up a few miles from Pebble Beach, continued to be the surprise player of the tournament at 1-over through 15 holes.

Many people probably expected Clampett to falter after his opening-round 68, considering that he rarely plays tournament golf and basically retired from the PGA Tour five years ago. But Clampett, who used to sneak onto Pebble Beach as a child, made the most of his local knowledge, looked confident around the greens and continued a memorable two-day experience.

Woods made his first bogey of the tournament at the par 3 No. 5, hitting his tee shot into the right bunker, blasting out to within eight feet of the hole and then missing the putt. But after hitting his tee shot into the right rough at the par 5, 524-yard No. 6, he hit a shot that few others can make, reaching the green from the rough with a remarkable approach shot. From there he missed a 20-foot putt for eagle, but tapped in for birdie and followed that up by another birdie at No. 7. Woods, however, made his second bogey at the par 4 No. 9, missing the green on his approach shot, and failing to get up and down.

Among players who finished the second round, Kirk Triplett was the clubhouse leader at 1-under (141), after an even-par 71. It was an impressive round for Triplett, who reached 5-under par through eight holes and then hung on through the back nine, with the temperature dropping and the greens becoming more unforgiving.

``We were back to the typical U.S. Open conditions, where there's hardly any guys breaking par,'' said Triplett, who won this year's Nissan Open to capture his first career victory on the PGA Tour. ``The guys breaking par are playing great, hitting phenomenal shots and great up-and-downs.''

Asked how it felt to be the clubhouse leader, Triplett said, ``Do they write the check based on that?'' No, they don't. And with Woods and many others still on the course, Triplett knew he would have to wait to learn his position heading into the third round.

It was that kind of day, but some managed to gain ground. Those who finished the second round in decent position included Nick Faldo and Vijay Singh (both 1-over), Lee Janzen (2- over), and Fred Couples and Tom Watson (both 3-over). But Colin Montgomerie, at 5-over after a second-round 74, had catching up to do.

The heavy fog that suspended first-round play, followed by more fog that delayed Friday's start by more than an hour, only wreaked more havoc with tournament proceedings. If there are more weather delays, this could become one of the longest U.S. Open tournaments in history. As it was, many players had to wake up at 4 a.m. and report to the golf course, only to find that the 6:30 a.m. start time had been pushed back.

Those who finished the second round Friday and remained in contention did well. Among those was Faldo, playing his best golf in months.

``Hopefully it will lead to better things the rest of the year,'' said Faldo, a six-time major winner who has not won since February 1998. ``I'll learn from it, go back and analyze it, and practice.''

``The greens are really firming up. The wind is tricky. You've got to really play great to keep the ball where you intend for it to go. Every hole is tricky.''

Two prominent players were already out of contention - Davis Love III (12-over), who shot an 81, and Greg Norman (17- over), who shot an 82. Both were certain to miss the second-round cut, which was scheduled to be made sometime on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, even those who did well had some bad holes. Triplett reached 5-under par for the tournament after eight holes, but bogeyed No. 9 and then double-bogeyed No. 10 when his approach shot went into a hazard and onto the beach. Triplett also double- bogeyed No. 13, but he regrouped to make birdie at No. 16.

``I was on the verge of throwing everything away,'' said Triplett. ``But I was proud of the way I finished.''

John Huston, who started the second round at four under, recovered from a difficult start to reach the clubhouse at even par (142) through 36 holes after a 75. Huston started the day at 4-under par, but he made a triple-bogey at No. 2, a par 4 hole. His second shot at No. 2 found a bunker, and when he hacked at the ball on his third shot it barely moved. The next shot did not make it out of the bunker. Then, after finally hitting his fifth shot onto the green, Huston two-putted for a seven. But he also ended his day on a high note, making a birdie on the final hole.

But they were all chasing Woods. And the weekend was certain to be unpredictable, with the weather always a story, Woods playing with confidence, and others trying to work their way into contention.

- New York Times News Service

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : It'll be tough for Yugoslavs against euphoric
           Norwegians
Next     : Udomchoke rallies to take title