Sunday, Jul 21, 2002
Sunday, Jul 21, 2002 |
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Golf
Els faltered on the back nine to finish with a 5-under-par 66 that left him tied atop a crowded leaderboard with Shigeki Maruyama, Padraig Harrington, Duffy Waldorf and Bob Tway midway through the Open. Woods, meanwhile, had a bogey-free 68 and was only two shots behind the quintet of leaders with two rounds to go in his bid for a third straight Major championship. ``Anytime you are near the lead in a Major championship you must be happy,'' Woods said. On a rainy day where birdies were plentiful on the Muirfield links, Els made three bogeys on the back nine to finish the round at 6-under 136. Also there were Harrington (67) and Maruyama, who shot a second straight 68 while playing under the added pressure of being in the same group as Woods. They were joined by Waldorf, who had a 69, and Tway, who shot a 67. Els looked like he was going to run away with the lead, making seven birdies and two pars on the front nine. But the final nine proved more difficult for Els, who two years ago finished second to Woods in three majors. ``It's not always that you're going to shoot a 29 in a Major,'' Els said. ``You just want to keep grinding, keep playing.'' On the back nine I played pretty solid. I guess I just ran out of birdie holes. I can't be too disappointed. I came from really nowhere getting myself to the lead.'' Between the leaders and Woods were three other players at 5 under: Des Smyth, Carl Pettersson and Soren Hansen. One day after seemingly ruling himself out of another Major, Colin Montgomerie moved to 4-under by shooting a 64 that was the best round of the tournament and his best round in a British Open. Resuming his bid for a Grand Slam, all four professional Majors in the same year, Woods picked up a birdie on the third hole and then birdied the par-5 fifth hole after hitting a 3-iron out of the rough just short of the green. But he missed short birdie putts on both the 15th and 16th holes, adding to his putting woes of a day earlier. ``I hit some good putts out there that just didn't go in but today was just one of those days I had to stay as patient as possible,'' Woods said. Still, Woods said he was looking forward to a weekend run and hoping the weather might worsen to make it even tougher on the field. ``If the wind ever blows it's going to be interesting,'' Woods said. Nick Price, who birdied three of the first five holes, struggled to finish at 70 and joined Woods and Montgomerie at 138 after two rounds at a Muirfield links that has been relatively tame without its famous wind. ``That's a good effort to go from 3 over to 4 under,'' Montgomerie said. ``I'm quite happy right now. I'm in a position where I could go forward.'' Montgomerie opened with a birdie and kept it going. A 35-footer curled in the cup for eagle on the fifth, and he closed out by hitting a 4-iron to 12-feet on the last hole for his seventh birdie. Each one produced an enormous cheer, just like last year at Royal Lytham & St. Annes when he led after 36 holes. He faded badly on the weekend.
Phil Mickelson was going in the opposite direction. Mickelson has always struggled in this Major championship, and Muirfield was no different. Mickelson took a double bogey out of the hay, a double bogey when he tried to play a bunker shot from his knees, and he wound up with a 76. Nick Faldo established a British Open record with a 69. It was his 34th round in the 60s, finally breaking the record he had shared with Jack Nicklaus since 1996, that was the last time Faldo had a round in the 60s at golf's oldest championship. — AP
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