REPORT FROM US PGA TOUR
Tiger trips late again and Zach
Johnson leads by two strokes
Tiger Woods faltered with two bogeys on the final holes for the second day in a row at the US PGA Tour's Quail Hollow Championship at Charlotte, North Carolina.
George McNeill did the same and after a lightning suspension with only four players to finish, Zach Johnson, who had birdied the 17th, emerged with a two-shot lead to carry into Sunday's final round.
"I've got a two-shot lead. I'm happy to be there," Johnson said. "At the same time, on this golf course, that's a matter of one hole. Maybe even one shot."
Johnson's par-birdie-par finish -- one day after he went bogey-bogey-bogey -- gave him a 4-under 68 and a two-shot lead over Woods, McNeill and Lucas Glover, all of whom dropped at least one shot over one of the toughest closing stretches - they call in the "Green Mile" - on the US PGA Tour.
Johnson is at 11-under 205 and in position to win for the second time this year. The first prize, by the way, is well over a million dollars. And here's a thought for lady pro golfers to ponder. The total Quail Hollow Champion prize fund of six million dollars is more than they compete for over the whole season on the US Duramed Futures Tour. Something wrong somewhere?
The final two groups, including Johnson and McNeill, had to wait out a 1hr, 12min storm delay before finishing the 18th hole. Officials blew the horn to stop play right after Woods staggered to the finish line with a 70.
Woods birdied all the par 5s, including a two-putt from 12 feet on the 15th hole that put him in the outright lead at 11-under par for the first time in a third round that featured seven players atop the leaderboard at some point.
That he would drop two shots at the end was not terribly shocking, given the difficulty of the holes.
What bothered Woods was that he had a 7-iron in his hand both times -- a poor approach to the 17th that led to a three-putt from 60 feet, and a slight shift in the wind that kept his ball right of the green on the 18th, followed by a poor chip to 6 feet and failure to save par.
"That's not the way you want to finish," Woods said. "But I've got a shot going into tomorrow."
He's not alone.
Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter are in the top-20 or so shake-up.
And nice to see Glasgow's Martin Laird assured of some take-home pay for the second week in a row after his dire start to the season.
Martin has had back-to-back 70s on a course that even trips up the Tiger.
SCROLL DOWN FOR ALL THE THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Johnson leads by two strokes
Tiger Woods faltered with two bogeys on the final holes for the second day in a row at the US PGA Tour's Quail Hollow Championship at Charlotte, North Carolina.
George McNeill did the same and after a lightning suspension with only four players to finish, Zach Johnson, who had birdied the 17th, emerged with a two-shot lead to carry into Sunday's final round.
"I've got a two-shot lead. I'm happy to be there," Johnson said. "At the same time, on this golf course, that's a matter of one hole. Maybe even one shot."
Johnson's par-birdie-par finish -- one day after he went bogey-bogey-bogey -- gave him a 4-under 68 and a two-shot lead over Woods, McNeill and Lucas Glover, all of whom dropped at least one shot over one of the toughest closing stretches - they call in the "Green Mile" - on the US PGA Tour.
Johnson is at 11-under 205 and in position to win for the second time this year. The first prize, by the way, is well over a million dollars. And here's a thought for lady pro golfers to ponder. The total Quail Hollow Champion prize fund of six million dollars is more than they compete for over the whole season on the US Duramed Futures Tour. Something wrong somewhere?
The final two groups, including Johnson and McNeill, had to wait out a 1hr, 12min storm delay before finishing the 18th hole. Officials blew the horn to stop play right after Woods staggered to the finish line with a 70.
Woods birdied all the par 5s, including a two-putt from 12 feet on the 15th hole that put him in the outright lead at 11-under par for the first time in a third round that featured seven players atop the leaderboard at some point.
That he would drop two shots at the end was not terribly shocking, given the difficulty of the holes.
What bothered Woods was that he had a 7-iron in his hand both times -- a poor approach to the 17th that led to a three-putt from 60 feet, and a slight shift in the wind that kept his ball right of the green on the 18th, followed by a poor chip to 6 feet and failure to save par.
"That's not the way you want to finish," Woods said. "But I've got a shot going into tomorrow."
He's not alone.
Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter are in the top-20 or so shake-up.
And nice to see Glasgow's Martin Laird assured of some take-home pay for the second week in a row after his dire start to the season.
Martin has had back-to-back 70s on a course that even trips up the Tiger.
SCROLL DOWN FOR ALL THE THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Labels: US PGA TOUR, US PRO TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Sunday, May 03, 2009
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home