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Woods fires 68, 1 shot behind Appleby at US Open
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-14 15:22 Mickelson was at 4-over 146 and in a tie for 35th in a hometown U.S. Open he called a "once in a lifetime" chance. Only eight players remained under par on a city-owned golf course that has been universally praised as fair — a word seldom heard at the U.S. Open — but not necessarily easy. Woods and a few others only made it look that way. Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain made a quiet charge, and his birdie on the par-5 ninth — three groups behind the circus following the top three players in the world — gave him a tournament-best 66. He was at 1-under 141, along with Lee Westwood of England (71), Davis Love III (69) and D.J. Trahan (69). "If you're 1 under par through two rounds in a U.S. Open, you're doing something right," Trahan said. "Like anybody will tell you, this isn't a birdie contest. This is a survival contest." Woods was in that survival mode early, three-putting from long range for bogey on No. 10 and hitting his approach into the right rough for another bogey on No. 12. He was sliding down the leaderboard until smashing a drive on the 614-yard 13th hole — with the tee pushed all the way back — and hitting a fairway metal to 10 feet for eagle. But the momentum was shifting as quickly as clouds replaced patches of sunshine along the Pacific, and Woods quickly fell of the pace. Just as suddenly, his name emerged atop the leaderboard. Woods got a big break with his errant tee shot, the ball going so far to the right that it avoided the ankle-deep grass and came to rest just inches from the cart path on a thin lie. Taking free relief would have put him behind a tree, so Woods steadied himself and fired away with an 8-iron from 157 yards. One birdie putt later, he was on his way. "Whether you call it a zone or not, I got into a rhythm," Woods said. "I've been there before. I've had nice rounds like that. I was just trying to get back to even par. I just happened to make some putts. That was it." |
