Seeds of victory are sprouting for Woods
Tiger Woods had an easy time advancing yesterday in the
Woods was 5 up through six holes and never seriously challenged by Tim Clark, the South African recovering from a neck injury and playing his first tournament of the year. The result was a 5-and-4 victory, the shortest match of the second round.
Mickelson's up-and-down West Coast swing came to a stunning end with an incredible up-and-down by Justin Rose. Mickelson figured the match would be all square going to the par-3 16th tee after Rose, who was 1 up, hit into the desert brush and had to chip out backward to the fairway, hitting his third shot 30 feet short of the flag.
Rose's par putt dropped on the last turn, however, keeping the lead and momentum on his side. Mickelson felt he had no choice but to go after what he called a "carnival" pin on 16, and it went 3 yards too far and off a shelf, leading to a bogey. Rose closed him out with a birdie on the 17th to win, 3 and 1.
Chad Campbell made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to go overtime against Furyk, then two-putted from 50 feet for birdie to win in 19 holes.
That left Woods, the No. 1 seed, as the only player among the top eight seeds still around.
Next for Woods is Nick O'Hern, a short but straight-hitting Australian who beat him two years ago at La Costa. "I'm sure he will obviously take positive vibes from what he did the last time we played," Woods said. "But the whole idea is you've got to play well."
LPGA -- Rookie Angela Park shot a 6-under 66 in windy conditions for a share of the first-round lead with Stacy Prammanasudh in the Fields Open in Kapolei, Hawaii. Se Ri Pak, who needs to play just eight more events to qualify for the World Golf Hall of Fame this year, made a late move to open with a 67. Meaghan Francella survived a triple bogey and was at 68, with Kyeong Bae.
PGA -- Fred Funk birdied five of his first seven holes and finished with an 8-under 62, giving him the lead after the first round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, the first Tour event in Mexico. Cameron Beckman had six birdies in seven holes, and was two shots behind at 64 along with George McNeill, John Merrick, and Boo Weekley.
