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AUGUSTA, Georgia: Trevor Immelman emerged as the halfway leader at
the Masters on Friday as Tiger Woods used an incredible finish to
keep alive his bid for a fifth Augusta crown.
Immelman, who has had an arduous recovery from
surgery to remove a benign tumor from his diaphragm, birdied 17 and
18 en route to his second straight 68 and an eight-under total of
136.
Woods, who arrived at Augusta supremely
confident after winning seven of his last nine tournaments, blamed
blustery winds as he failed to generate any real momentum for the
second straight day.
Starting four adrift on even par, the world No.1
opened with a birdie, but gave the shot back at the second and
didn’t get back in red numbers until a birdie at 17.
He took a big gamble at the last after his tee
shot found the trees on the right of the fairway. He punched out
away from the hole onto the neighboring 10th fairway.
Woods then muscled a shot straight toward the
18th flag. It came to a premature halt on the green when it hit the
ball of playing partner Stuart Appleby.
Woods allowed himself a rare smile when he got
the green, then made his par putt to complete a 71 for a one-under
total of 143.
“Oh man, it was the only shot I had. Either
that or pitch out backwards and leave myself over 200 yards,”
Woods said. “Great four.”
Woods, who couldn’t make much out of a good
ball-striking round on Thursday, said the swirling winds were the
biggest problem on Friday.
“It was quite a fight to try and figure out
what was going on,” he said. “It was swirling all over the
place.
“We were backing off shot after shot,” Woods
added. “It certainly was not a fast front nine. We played right
around three hours. Day of patience for sure.”
Woods said the seven shots separating him from
Immelman was far from insurmountable.
“Seven back on this golf course, in these
conditions, you can make that up,” he said.
The biggest 36-hole deficit overcome by a
Masters champion was eight strokes, by Jack Burke in 1956. Woods
himself rallied from a six-stroke halfway deficit en route to his
playoff victory in 2005.
But if Woods’s previous form holds true,
he’ll need to gain ground on Saturday, since all of his 13 major
titles have come when he held at least a share of the lead after the
third round.
Immelman, who went out early before the winds
kicked up, said he owed his lead to solid putting on the treacherous
Augusta greens. He sank putts of 15 and 10 feet at 17 and 18.
“I really did hole some unbelievable putts out
there,” said Immelman, who made 10-footers for birdies at the
par-four fifth and the par-four seventh and a five-foot birdie at
the par-four 11th.
American Brandt Snedeker, playing his first
Masters as a professional after appearing as an amateur in 2004, was
in second place after a 68 for seven-under 137.
World No.2 Phil Mickelson, tipped as the man
most likely to deny Woods a Green Jacket and a chance at a sweep of
this year’s major championships, posted a bogey-free 68 for a
share of third place on five-under 139.
He was joined by fellow American Steve Flesch,
who carded a five-under 67 and by England’s Ian Poulter, who came
in with a 69.
Canadian Stephen Ames posted his second straight
70 for a four-under total of 140, where he was joined by England’s
Paul Casey, who shot a 69.
Americans Stewart Cink (69) and Arron Oberholser
(70), and former Masters champion Mike Weir of Canada (68), shared
eighth place on three-under 141, while South African Retief Goosen
notched his second straight 71 to head a group on 142.
The halfway cut came at three-over 147.
Overnight co-leader Justin Rose also made it
with a stroke to spare, despite a spectacular collapse to a six-over
78 that included a triple-bogey eight at the par-five 15th.
Defending champion Zach Johnson ballooned to a
76 but also got through on 146, while such notable names as Ernie
Els, Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald failed to make it.
-- AFP
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