US PGA TOUR REPORT

A master class

from Tiger in

how to hold a

good score

together

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Tournament host Tiger Woods held a very good round together in brilliant style during a shaky stretch in the middle and shot a four-under 66 to take a one-shot lead at the AT&T National with the lowest 36-hole score ever recorded at the Congressional Country Club. But a back-nine collapse put paid to Paul Casey's hopes of competing over the weekend.
With big crowds turning out in the Washington DC area at the start of the July 4 holiday weekend, Woods followed Thursday's six-under-par 64, his lowest opening round in two years, with a 66 on the par-70, 7,255-yard Blue Course in Bethesda, Maryland.
The five-birdie, one-bogey round took the world number one into an early second-round lead at 10 under par and he held on to it after overnight leader Anthony Kim failed to build on his course record, eight-under 62 in the first round.
The leader, though, was far from happy with his day's work.
"I didn't drive the ball as well as I did yesterday or hit my irons as crisp," Woods said.
"Either I hit it pretty close to the hole, within 10 feet, or I was missing greens. So it was a little bit of two ends today.
"It was nice to actually get a score out of it. I didn't shoot myself in the foot and had a stretch there from basically 17 through three (he started at the 10th) where I didn't really hit the ball all that well but somehow was able to get through it and keep the momentum of the round going."
Kim had got to 10 under after eight holes before three bogeys undermined his good work. A birdie at the 16th, though left him with a level-par 70 to finish two strokes behind Woods in third place, one behind Australia's Rod Pampling, who posted a 64 to move to nine under par.
Kim was happy to have remained in the hunt after surviving a tough round.
"It was a grind, possibly one of the toughest ball-striking days I've had in a long time, even with all my injuries (this year) and I feel good," Kim said. "I stayed positive and made a couple of key putts to keep me in it so it's not so bad to be third after a rough day."
“Either I hit it pretty close to the hole, within 10 feet, or I was missing greens,” Woods said. “So it was a little bit of two ends today. It was nice to actually get a score out of it.”
Woods is in the halfway pole postion at 10-under 130, breaking by one shot the previous 36-hole score at Congressional set last year by Tom Pernice Jr. and Jeff Overton. Woods has a one-shot lead over Rod Pampling, who had a 64 to boost his chances of qualifying for the Open at Turnberry.
Defending champion Anthony Kim couldn’t build on his course-record 62 from the opening round. He played in the afternoon, after Woods set the target, and caught him briefly before missing too many fairways and having to settle for a 70 that put him two behind.
Jim Furyk, adding more star power to the leaderboard, had a 67 and was alone in fourth.
Perhaps more daunting than Woods’ record 36-hole score is his record on the US PGA Tour when he has at least a share of the 36-hole lead.
He is 31-6 in US sports terms (i.e. won 31, lost six), having won the last 11 times from that spot, dating to 2004 at the Byron Nelson Championship.
While some of the birdies were pure, such as a 5-iron to within 4 feet of a tucked flag on the 13th, it was his worst golf that showed why Woods contends as often as he does.
He twice hit tee shots into the rough and couldn’t get to the green. Another tee shot went into a bunker. He missed the green at a par 3 on the 'wrong' side of the hole. From the middle of the fairway, he hit a miserable shot into a hollow of thick grass.
Despite all that, Woods played that five-hole stretch in one under par whereas a lesser golfing mortal would have been several over.
“That’s why the guy is at such a high level,” said US Open champion Lucas Glover, who played with Woods and shot 66 to join the group at 5-under 135. “When things are going bad, he can rely on his short game. He just doesn’t waste any shots. If he’s losing shots, it’s because of a bad break or a bad lie.”
There were ample opportunities to fall back.
Unable to reach the 17th green from a thick lie in the rough, Woods holed a 6-foot par putt. He pushed his 3-wood into the right rough on the 18th and had to punch under some tree branches and let the ball roll toward the green, but not too far because of water all around it. He putted from off the green 70 feet away to within 5ft and holed that for par.
The birdie came from a fairway bunker, the ball spinning back pin-high, five feet away. Then came a scary, almost magical chip from the side of a mound, which he flopped with enough spin to tap in a 2-footer. And on the third hole, having short-sided himself again, Woods pitched perfectly to a green running away from him and saved another par with a 4-foot putt.
“That’s how you keep yourself in a golf tournament,” Woods said. “I made a couple of big putts — 17, 18, good up-and-down on 2 — and it kept me going. I played well early, and it’s all about keeping your momentum.”
Woods will play in the final pairing of the third round with Pampling, a familiar face from their many morning practice rounds at the majors. Pampling was in the first group off Friday morning, ran off three birdies through five holes, and didn’t get unsettled by a lone bogey when he missed the fairway on the sixth hole, which plays as a par 4 at 516 yards.
“I just didn’t do anything wrong and kept myself out of trouble,” Pampling said.
He has two weeks left to try to qualify for Turnberry, but would need at least a runner-up finish this week to have a chance. Otherwise, he is headed for the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.
Most eyes were behind Pampling, however, with the prospects of a Woods-Kim shootout at Congressional. Kim is regarded as the most promising young American to challenge Woods, and despite a swing that deserted him midway through the round, he’s only two behind. “I hate the way I hit the ball today,” Kim said. “My swing got loose and I couldn’t find it out there. If I can stay focused and stay positive, I’ll be in good shape.”
A dozen players were separated by five shots, including US Amateur champion Danny Lee, who had a 67. Even so, it starts with a familiar name at the top.
“He can be playing great and then you really don’t have a lot of chance of beating him,” Pampling said. “And then he’s just playing so-so and he’s still right there with a chance to win coming down the last nine holes. He’s just amazing how consistent he is.”

Paul Casey had halves of 30 and 39 for 144 - two shots too many to make the cut. He had five bogeys and one birdie on his inward half.

But Glasgow's Martin Laird made the cut with scores of 70 and 71 for 141.
SECOND-ROUND LEADING TOTALS

Par 140 (2x70)

130 T Woods 64 66.

131 R Pampling 67 74.

132 A Kim 62 70.

133 J Furyk 66 67.

134 B Molder 64 7, D A Points 64 70, D Chopra 66 68.

135 S Appleby 66 69, L Glover 69 66, D Lee 68 67, R Moore 69 66, C Beckman 68 67.

Selected scores

138 J Rose 67 71 (jt 22nd).

141 M Laird 70 71 (jt 48th).

142 B Davis 70 72.

MISSED THE CUT (142 and better qualified)

144 P Casey 75 69.