Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson move up Deutsche Bank Championship leaderboard
By: Emily Kay on 09/04/10 06:52 PMNORTON, Mass., Sept. 4 -- Tiger Woods stayed in the playoff hunt with a bogey-free 6-under 65 to move up the second-round leaderboard at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Three shots under the cut line and near the bottom of the field after Friday, Woods put his plodding first round behind him with four birdies in his first seven holes on Saturday at TPC Boston. A birdie at 18 put him at 5-under for the tournament, seven shots behind leaders Brandt Snedeker’s and Jason Day’s 12-under.
Lefty goes low. Phil Mickelson, who, once again this week, has a chance to take over the No. 1 position in golf, also shot a 65 to put him at 8-under for the tourney.
“I drove the ball very well and...putted well,” Mickelson told reporters following his round. “It was fun to shoot a low score. The wind was picking up, so it wasn't as easy as yesterday to get back in it, so it feels good.”
Mickelson posted a 2-under 69 in his first round Thursday and ended the day tied for eighth.
Last week’s Barcaly’s winner Matt Kuchar was one off the lead and in a tie for second place after posting a second-round 6-under. Defending Deutsche Bank champ Steve Stricker finished his second round just three off the pace.
What hurricane? After all the hoopla and preparations for Hurricane Earl, the outer reaches of which dumped rain on the course Friday, the only remnant from the fast-moving storm was a gusty wind that appeared to grow in intensity in the afternoon.
Woods and playing partner John Senden expected the wind to affect golfers playing later.
“If it doesn't blow, the guys are going to shoot what they shot yesterday, and I'm sure that if it didn't blow at all, the cut would have been 4-under,” said Woods.
Senden, who added a 68 to his opening-round 66, believed the gusts could add a stroke to the score of each golfer on the p.m. side of the draw.
That toddlin’ town. Woods, who struggled to a 1-over 72 Friday, needed a strong round just to give himself a chance to play in the third stage of the FedEx Cup playoffs. The reigning top-ranked golfer entered this weekend’s event at No. 65 on the playoff points list and had to finish in the top 70 to play Sunday and Monday.
His second round, which put him in a tie for 29th, assured he would play the next two days, but he must finish in about the top 50 this week to make the trip to Chicago. Saturday's play was certainly a positive step toward that goal.
“I hit it really good today,” Woods said. “I missed a few out there today, but all in all, a good score, I think.”
Noting that his energy was higher on Saturday than Friday, Woods said his game was a work in progress as he continued his sessions with swing coach Sean Foley.
Learning curve. “I'm still learning to put this thing together,” he said. “I'm going to have off days. Yesterday I started off terrible but I got it back, and I pieced it back together again.”
Woods began his first round with four bogeys on his first six holes, but pieced together three birdies the rest of the way to give himself a chance. For sure, his second-round tee shots were far better than those on Friday, when he missed eight fairways, seven of them way to the left.
“It was a clean card today,” he said of a round that started with four birds on the first seven and included hitting 11 of 14 fairways and 14 greens in regulation.
“Could have been a little bit lower....but overall, with the wind blowing like this, it’s a little bit swirly and a little bit gusty, I feel very pleased with the number I was able to post.”
Senden, for one, was impressed with Tiger’s prowess Saturday.
“He certainly brought his “A” game today,” said Senden, who played with Woods both days. “It’s always good to see the best in the world play golf. He drove the ball real well today and he really looked sharp.”
Another DQ. In yet another rules kerfuffle, PGA Tour officials disqualified Chad Campbell for failing to file the necessary paperwork. Campbell shot a 72 on Friday and found out prior to his second round that he did not register for the event.
“Just can’t believe [I] made a mistake like that,” Campbell told Golfweek’s Jim McCabe. “Obviously disappointed that I’m not getting to play today, but that’s the rules. That’s the way it goes.”
Senior moment. Some golfers sleep through their tee times, others don’t recognize bunkers from dirt patches, and still others don’t know dollars from doughnuts. Campbell forgets to sign up for tournaments.
Turns out, the DB Championship was not the first tourney to which Campbell did not officially commit. He flew to Hawaii two years ago expecting to tee it up in the Sony Open but discovered once he got there that he had not registered, according to McCabe.
“It’s starting to be a trend,” said Campbell, whose brain cramp knocked him out of the race for the FedEx Cup.
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out at the Boston Golf Examiner and National Golf Examiner websites.)
