The enormous crowd following Tiger Woods this week at the
Frys.com Open was still waiting for the man of the hour to show up
Friday at CordeValle Golf Club.
SAN MARTIN – The enormous crowd following Tiger Woods this week at the Frys.com Open was still waiting for the man of the hour to show up Friday at CordeValle Golf Club.
Woods bogeyed the unlucky 13th, lost a ball on the 18th for another bogey in a 1-under-par 68 second round that left him tied for 37th when play was suspended.
The tournament will resume at 7:30 a.m. Saturday with the projected cut at plus-1.
“I don’t like missing cuts period,” Woods said. “If I miss the cut, that means you can’t win the tournament on the weekend. I’ve got a shot at it this weekend.”
Heavy morning fog pushed tee times back by almost two hours and 20 minutes.
Starting on No. 10, Woods birdied the second hole before posting six straight pars, including a 15-foot putt on the par-3 seventh.
“I had one bad putt and that was it today, every other putt was on line,” Woods said. “I hit my lines all day, saw my line which was nice. I added two strips of lead to the bottom (of my putter) to add a little more weight to get the ball to the hole, and fixed my posture a little bit on the putter. When I did that I was able to see the line.”
While his putting improved from Thursday, Woods was disappointed with his inconsistent drives, a sign of his recent struggles with a new swing. Woods’ balky knee, however, was not a factor.
“I’ve come off injuries before in the past, but it’s always been the same swing,” he said. “It’s pretty easy to come back to that. But you’re implementing changes, it’s nice to have some more competitive reps to fall back to. Because as of right now, I haven’t had that many competitive reps with (swing coach Sean Foley).”
While Woods floundered, several of his lesser-known countrymen mounted a charge led by 21-year-old Bud Cauley, who shot a 66 with seven birdies to climb into second at 6-under.
“I can surprise some people sometimes,” said Cauley, who has made five PGA Tour cuts this summer.
“A lot of it is course management. People think that because it’s a strong field, you have to birdie every hole. But really you just have to hit par and do your best.”
Cauley was one stroke behind a red hot Paul Casey. The Englishman collected six birdies in a course-record tying 64.
Casey was the highest-ranked player entering the tournament but had been hampered by a foot injury.
“I’m probably about 70 percent, but I had a breakthrough after I missed out on the FedEx Cup,” he said.
“My confidence is up. The ball striking by no means is perfect, but it’s nice seeing the ball go in.”
Cauley was among 10 Americans who finished in the top 10. Garrett Willis was alone in third at minus-6, followed by Chris Stroud, Billy Mayfair, Brendan Steele, Nathan Smith, Troy Matteson and Aussie Rod Pampling at 5-under.
Live Oak High School graduate Erick Justesen was tied for 10th with seven others, including Ernie Els, at 4-under.
Woods was expected to dominate the Fall Series event despite plummeting to No. 51 in the world golf rankings last week. By Friday evening, many wondered if they would see him play again this weekend.
The scenario drew a laugh in disbelief from Cauley.
“You know, Tiger is the best player of my generation,” he said. “I turned pro because I want to come out here and compete – and I’m not playing just to beat him. … I’m just trying to shoot as low as a I can.”
– Among the other big names at the tournament, Trevor Immelman was tied for 18th at 3-under; Ricky Barnes was tied for 27th at 2-under; defending champ Rocco Mediate and Angel Cabrera were tied for 51 at even, and Justin Leonard was plus-2 near the end of play Friday.
– John Ellis, another LOHS alum, remained 6-over through five holes.
