Furyk goes the distance on 18
His 56-foot putt earns 2-shot lead
Jim Furyk added his own touch to Harbour Town's famous 18th hole yesterday, rolling in a 56-foot birdie putt for a two-shot lead in the
Putting from the back fringe, Furyk had simply hoped for a good lag and an easy par on the final hole. Instead, he watched his ball strike the flagstick and fall in. His 4-under-par 67 left him at 11 under, two strokes in front of Baddeley (67), Brian Gay (67), Duffy Waldorf (68), and first-round leader Vaughn Taylor (70).
Baddeley struck a smooth 8-iron about 160 yards that hit the green and bounced into the cup. The 25-year-old Australian heard the crowd's cheers and wondered how close he'd gotten.
''When I got up there, the ball wasn't anywhere to be seen," Baddeley said.
The hole, crafted by architect Pete Dye along Calibogue Sound, has seen its share of amazing shots. Three years ago, Davis Love chipped in a tying birdie on the 72d hole, then struck the flag stick for a tap-in birdie during the playoff for his fifth Harbour Town title.
Tournament officials said Baddeley's was the third eagle there since 1983. Lee Janzen accomplished it during the final round in 1997, then Mike Hulbert matched it in his second round two years later.
Jeff Maggert tied the mark for lowest back-nine score at 29. It was first accomplished by Brad Faxon in 1997 and tied by Chris Perry in 2000 and Steve Flesch in 2001. Maggert finished with a 66 to reach 7 under, three shots behind the leaders.
Ernie Els is the only one of golf's ''Big Five" of Masters champ Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen to play here after the year's opening major. Els shot a 67 and was seven shots behind Furyk.
LPGA -- Lorena Ochoa shot a 4-under 68 in windy conditions to take a two-stroke lead over Brittany Lincicome in the Takefuji Classic in Las Vegas.
After an opening 63 in ideal conditions the previous day, Ochoa didn't tee off until noon and had to contend with afternoon gusts that whipped around the flags on the greens. She was at 13-under 131 through two days of the 54-hole tournament.
The 20-year-old Lincicome, in her second year on the Tour, completed most of her round of 65 before the wind kicked up. So did Paula Creamer and Seon Hwa Lee, both three strokes back at 10 under. Creamer shot a 64, and Lee had a 67. Shi Hyun Ahn (70) was four shots off Ochoa's pace.
European-Asian -- England's David Lynn had nine birdies in a 5-under 67 to take the lead after two rounds at the China Open in Beijing.
