Three-time defending champion Tiger Woods fired a seven-under 65 on Friday to open a four-shot lead at the US$5.2 million PGA Buick Invitational.
Woods, who played the Torrey Pines north course, is at 12-under 132 after 36 holes. Woods leads Kevin Streelman by four shots and Stewart Cink by five strokes.
"My iron game was good and I made of bunch of putts, which can sometimes be a pretty tricky task out there," Woods said. "I got a couple of good bounces on the greens which was nice."
PHOTO: EPA
Aussie Aaron Baddeley, Boo Weekley and Brad Adamonis are six shots back at 138.
Woods, a five-time winner at Torrey Pines, has not been please with his driving this week.
"I drove it like a dog yesterday," he said. "But today I over-shaped them. That's fine. I can face that, which is not a problem."
Woods devoured the north course on Friday, considered the easier of the two. His bogey-free 65 was two shots better than the 67 he posted in the first round at the south course.
Starting on the back nine, Woods began slowly with pars on his first three holes. He made birdie on the 13th and the 16th.
A birdie on his ninth hole moved Woods into a share of the lead with Streelman, and he followed it with three consecutive birdies at Nos. 1-3 to build a three-shot lead.
A closing birdie on the final hole gave Woods a four-stroke gap heading into the weekend.
PGA Tour rookie Streelman, an alternate who didn't know he was in the event until just before the first round started, held the lead early, getting to eight-under after making birdie on three of his first four holes on the South Course. Streelman carded a 69 that included four birdies and one bogey.
As troublesome as Woods' driver has been, his irons and short game have been tremendous. He has hit 29-of-36 greens in regulation, made fewer than 30 putts both days and even chipped into the cup on the sixth hole on Friday.
"I've gotten some pretty good breaks the past couple of days," Woods said. "Some pretty good lies in the rough and I've hit my irons well and that's important. I've made a lot of putts."
Woods knows though, that when he gets back on the south course, where the final two rounds will be played, he has to find the fairway more.
"You have to hit the ball better on the South," Woods said. "The golf course is a lot longer."
"They were pretty generous with the pins the first day because you're going to have the entire field play basically in the same areas for the next few days," he said.
"Pins weren't exactly tucked but I'm sure come the weekend they'll make them a little bit more difficult," Woods said.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and