Woods’ move put on hold in
steeplechase at Firestone
AKRON, Ohio – On a day when the under-par assault on long and demanding Firestone South continued more or less unabated Friday, the resurrection of Tiger Woods was put on hold in World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Woods, playing his first tournament in 11 weeks, lost a bit of ground with a one-over-par 71 slipping to seven off the lead, just a stroke further back.“I just didn’t play as well as I did yesterday,” Woods said, “and consequently I just never got the round going.”
Meanwhile, all around him were playing away. The leaderboard took on the look of a steeple chase, led by the heavy-haired, multi-colored Rickie Fowler, whose wild 64 lifted him into a four-way tie for the lead, with first-round leader Adam Scott, who went from 62 to 70; Ryan Moore (66), and newcomer Keegan Bradley, a graduate of the Nationwide Tour, and winner of the Byron Nelson Championship in May, in his first crack at it. He shot a bogey-free 65.
At 6-foot-2, 190, he might have made a point guard at St. John’s. As in the New York St. John’s. Bradley, age 25, is finding his way in golf’s big time. He had a 1 p.m. tee time for Friday’s second round, which called for some strategy.
“When I have a late tee time, I try to stay up as late as I can,” Bradley said. “I try to stay up at least till 11 o’clock.”
Late to bed and late to rise produced that steady and nifty, five-birdie 65 highlighted by a tap-in after a 149-yard approach at the par-4 No. 6.
Apart from Woods’ so-so 71, there was little gallery acclaim from others who might be expected to jam their way into the proceedings. Phil Mickelson, for one, bobbed along to a 73 and is tied for 39th, eight back, one better than Woods. Steve Stricker moved up on a 65 and is four behind, as is the U.S. Open champ Rory McIlroy (68), the Northern Ireland whiz. And fellow Northern Irishman Darren Clarke had none of the magic that got him the British Open championship a few weeks ago. He shot 74 is 76th and dead last, 19 shots off.
Adam Scott, with a hint of a smile on his narrow face, was trying to explain how one goes from a 62 one day to a 70 the next, the 8-stroke differential, awkwardly enough, being the reason why a guy would all but apologize for shooting a par round.
“A 70 around this course is never really that bad,” Scott reminded. “So hopefully I can hit a few more fairways over the weekend.”
His 70 was largely workaday. Starting from No. 10, he ground out ten straight pars, and had two birdies and two bogeys -- his only two of the tournament so far -- coming in. He birdied his 11th (everybody’s patsy, the par-5 No. 2), even after bunkering his approach. And he birdied No. 8 (his 17th) on a 7-foot putt.
“It was harder for me to get in a rhythm today, for whatever reason,” said Scott, lest anyone think he’d underachieved on the day. “There’s no real secret that it’s not easy to shoot a couple 62s.”
Fowler, 22, is preaching patience to himself. He’s been out on the tour, oh, nearly two years now, and hasn’t won yet.
“It’s a well-known fact, and not exactly something you can put to the side, that I haven’t won yet as a pro,” Fowler conceded. “I can’t go out and force it. It’s something that’s just got to happen.” But it sure looked as though he was trying to beat a win out of Firestone Friday.
The crown jewel in Fowler’s 64 was an eagle at the 442-yard, par-4 No.3, his 12th hole. He smacked his tee shot 320 yards and holed out a gap wedge from 109.
“It was going right at it,” Fowler said. “Landed just past the hole. I knew it was going right down the stick, and it fell right in the back door.”
Lee Trevino used to say he flat wore out his 4-wood, Firestone was so long. Fowler would be an alien to him, averaging about 300 yards off the tee, but he beat Firestone into submission not with his driver but with his putter. He needed just 21 putts Friday, one-putting an obscene 13 times,. On his first nine (from the 10th), he two-putted only once, at the 11th, his second hole.
Fowler was looking at a 10-under 60. So how does a guy who’s beating a course silly make four bogeys?
Well, in order: At the 17th (his eighth), he was too long with his second and too short coming back with his third. At No. 4, his 13th, he was over the green again. He bunkered his tee shot at the par-3 7th (his 13th), and at No. 9, his 18th, he yielded to temptation for extra yardage and slugged a tee shot 334 yards. Problem was, much of it was over in the rough at No. 1, next door.
Moore pulled out of a power dive just in time. After birdies at the fourth and fifth, at the 7th he bunkered his tee-shot and headed down with three straight bogeys. He three-putted No. 8 from 41/2 feet, then battered the 9th with his putter, knocking a 55-foot putt 10 feet past and two-putting from there.
“That was a little slap in the face to kind of make me focus, and really grind it out on the back nine,” Moore said. Grind he did – three straight birdies from the 10th, on putts of 8, 15 and 22 feet. In fact, he one-putted the first six coming home, which got him down to only 25 putts for the round. If they putt for dough, he looks like something of a good bet. He had only 28 in the first round.
Bradley, though older than Fowler and McIlroy, suddenly has become the kid of the Bridgestone.
“When you’re having fun, for some reason, you always play a lot better,” Bradley said. “When you’re not having fun, you seem to be shooting some high numbers.”
Let Firestone firm up a bit from those recent rains, and it could be a coin toss for him.”
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