news details |
|
|
| Woods almost a lock to pad his major total after his pursuers wilt in the heat | | |
TULSA, Okla.
He bogeyed the par-3 14th hole, almost missed a tap-in for par on the 16th and very nearly got a particle of grass in his eye on the 17th
Otherwise it was another fine day at the office for Tiger Woods, who followed his 63 on Friday with a one-under 69 on Saturday to extend his lead in the 89th PGA Championship at Southern Hills. At seven under par for the tournament, he has a three-stroke cushion over Stephen Ames, the plainspoken Trinidadian who has a history of antagonizing the world's No. 1 golfer.
"I accomplished my goal today," said Woods, who wore a blue towel over his shoulders in the chilly, air-conditioned media pavilion. "My goal was to shoot under par and increase my lead."
Woods's conversion rate when tied or leading through 54 holes on the PGA Tour is 39 for 42, 12 for 12 in the majors. Several players sounded as if the tournament was over already, and they seemed to be steeling themselves for yet another Woods victory march.
"I'm not going to be watching what he's doing," said Ames, who shot 69 to get to four under and into the final pairing at 2 p.m. Sunday. "He's probably going to play a steady game as he does when he's in the lead."
Woody Austin was another shot back at three under, John Senden was two under and Ernie Els was one under. The top five players on the scoreboard all shot the same score, 69, on a moving day that was anything but.
Indeed, the only suspense was whether there would be any residual ill will from the 2006 WGC-Accenture Match Play. Prior to playing Woods, Ames was quoted as saying anything could happen with the way Woods was spraying the ball, but the comments blew up in his face when Woods won 9&8.
Ames has always insisted he was misquoted, but he refused to clarify his comments after his round Saturday, saying, "Are we here at the PGA Championship or are we here at the Match Play? Which one are we talking about?"
Woods on Saturday addressed the 18-month-old mini-drama the same way he's addressed the recent comments of Rory Sabbatini, another player who couldn't resist tugging on Superman's cape.
"We all know Stephen is a person who likes to speak his mind," Woods said.
He bogeyed the par-3 14th hole, almost missed a tap-in for par on the 16th and very nearly got a particle of grass in his eye on the 17th.
Otherwise it was another fine day at the office for Tiger Woods, who followed his 63 on Friday with a one-under 69 on Saturday to extend his lead in the 89th PGA Championship at Southern Hills. At seven under par for the tournament, he has a three-stroke cushion over Stephen Ames, the plainspoken Trinidadian who has a history of antagonizing the world's No. 1 golfer.
"I accomplished my goal today," said Woods, who wore a blue towel over his shoulders in the chilly, air-conditioned media pavilion. "My goal was to shoot under par and increase my lead."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
