Woods-Harrington rematch?
Too early, crowded to say – PGA Championship
CHASKA, Minn. – It looks like another Tiger Woods-Padraig Harrington showdown in the PGA Championship, though it’s a tad early to say and a bit too crowded to be sure. Their other showdown was last week in the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone, in which – in the final round – Woods recovered from some late errors, stiffed his third at the par-5 16th and birdied while Harrington was trashing the hole for an 8 in the nervous throes of being timed for slow play. Woods won.
Woods started the second round Friday – a hot day with brisk winds -- with a one-stroke lead over Harrington, and they were duking it out for a while, until Harrington, the 2008 champion, broke down for three bogeys from the 11th and Woods broke out for three birdies from the 14th. So Woods, with a 2-under 70 for a 137 total, has a plump four-stroke lead on not only Harrington (73), but U.S.Open champ Lucas Glover (70), England’s Ross Fisher (68) New Zealander Brendan Jones (70) and Vijay Singh (72).
Harrington came out of a fairway bunker out of an uphill lie at the par-5 15th magnificently – with a 3-wood from 301 yards -- and had a 12-footer left for an eagle (he birdied), and Woods called it one of the best shots he’d ever seen.
“He did say to me, actually, he would have paid to have seen it,” Harrington said. “So I asked him for 50 bucks.”
Why hit that bold a shot in the second round?
“I was thinking, if I missed the shot I might end up anyway in a pretty similar spot if I had laid up,” Harrington said. “So it was one of those that maybe because I was a couple over par, I felt, let’s have a go with it.”
Fisher, 28, seems to be popping up all over the place lately. He finished fifth in the U.S. Open, and he threatened in the British Open a month ago before a closing 75 dropped him to a tie for 13th.
“The Open, it’s history,” Fisher said. “One bad swing, a slightly mis-hit 2-iron, cost me a good chance.”
And he’s nothing if not confident. “That round today should have really been 6, 7, 8-under,” he insisted, “but unfortunately a few slip-ups, a couple of missed putts – but overall, it’s looking good.”
THE MAGIC 4 – The halfway cut came at 4-over 148, leaving 80 players to play the last two rounds. Among those spared: Phil Mickelson, the 2005 PGA Champion who hit the cut right on the number with 74-74 – 148.
Also surviving: Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa, at 17 the youngest player ever to compete in the PGA, with 74-74 – 148. He’s had six birdies over the first two rounds.
Among the major champions who missed are five former PGA champs -- Paul Azinger, Mark Brooks, Steve Elkington, Davis Love III and Shaun Micheel.
THE SHORT (NO LONG) OF IT – PGA brass mercifully cut back the 12th, a par-4, from its original 518 yards. To 501.
No. 14 was anointed as the sucker hole. The par-4, listed at 352 yards, shortest on the course, was set up at 299. With no water and bunkers left and right, it invites the guys to try to drive it.
OVERSEAS EAGLES -- Thomas Levet of France (75-147) and Y.E. Yang of South Korea (70-143) both eagled the par-5 No. 7 in the morning, and Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez (73-148) eagled the par-4 14th. Australia’s Brendan Jones (70-141) also eagled it.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR – The U.S. and eight foreign countries are represented among the top 12 players through 36 holes. And a record 69 foreign players, representing 21 countries, teed it up.
A CHARMED VISIT – The first time was a charm for Oakmont assistant pro Grant Sturgeon. He’s playing in his first major, and made the cut with room to spare, at 73-71 – 144. He credited his boss, Bob Ford, Oakmont’s head pro, for the crucial advice. Said Sturgeon: “He said, ‘Swing hard and hope you hit it.’ So, that was about as deep as we got into strategy other than just enjoying the moment and having fun.” Ford has played in 10 PGAs. Sturgeon’s opening 73 was remarkable – a bogey at No. 1 followed by 17 pars.
Greg Bisconti, assistant pro at at The St. Andrew’s Golf Club in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., is the only other club pro to make the cut, shooting 75-72 – 147.
ODDS AND ENDS – J.B. Holmes withdrew at the 13th, his fourth hole of the day, citing an injury to his left hand … Corey Pavin, 49, captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup for next year, shot 71-144, even par, and made the cut for the fourth straight year … Michael Allen, 50, who won the 2009 Senior PGA Championship in May, in his debut in senior play, also made the cut with 71-145.
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