Woods' day is better than average
OAKMONT, PA. — Just after 7 o'clock Friday night, Tiger Woods climbed into a cart, rode through a crowded parking lot and pulled up at the driving range at Oakmont Country Club. He met his coach and his caddie, and they set up shop at the far end of the range.
Woods went straight to work, again, even though he had not yet shaken off the dust and the grime and the sweat from a 5 1/2 -hour grind of the U.S. Open. Woods grabbed a club and started to practice his backswing as Hank Haney offered words of advice.
As for Woods' four-over 74, there were a few words of description.
"Well, I don't know what the average score was," he said, "but I think I shot under par."
It should surprise no one that the average score Friday at Oakmont was 76.9.
Five shots behind Angel Cabrera and tied for 13th, Woods has a chance, and that's nothing to take lightly after what happened on a freaky Friday at Oakmont.
Consider that the second-, third- and fourth-ranked players in the world -- Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Adam Scott -- were a combined 24 over par -- on the day.
Only two players broke 70.
There were 35 rounds in the 80s.
No one is under par after two rounds.
Don't rule out Woods, not just yet.
"I've won this championship before, and I know what it takes," he said.
His workday began hours earlier when he left his rented house and showed up at Oakmont to start pounding balls on the range. Woods went to the putting green for last-minute touches 15 minutes before his tee time and wasted little time.
He paused momentarily, to watch Aaron Baddeley's bunker shot in front of the ninth green, which actually occupies the front portion of the putting green.
It's an unusual setup, but then Oakmont is anything but typical. It is, as Steve Stricker said, a curse of a course:
"You look like a fool sometimes."
That's not a look that Woods favors. He rolled one more ball on the putting green and watched it disappear, handed his putter to caddie Steve Williams and walked toward the 10th tee.
Haney, his coach, patted Woods on the back and he took a deep breath before traveling a narrow path cleared by marshals holding back fans straining against the gallery ropes.
You could cut the symbolism with a two-iron. The world's best player taking on the world's toughest course. Tiger being thrown to the wolves.
- ORANGE COUNTY NEWSWATCH Mar 25, 1991
- ORANGE COUNTY NEWSWATCH Jun 20, 1990
- This Eldrick Woods . . . What's He Look Like? Dec 20, 2000
