Woods In Contention At Quicken Loans After A 5-Under 66
BEN NUCKOLS, Associated Press
GAINESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Tiger Woods showed a rare flash of anger on a mostly stress-free day when his second shot on the eighth hole failed to clear a massive fairway bunker. The best he could do was to squeeze it onto the front of the green.
The mistake on the par-5 hole set up the signature moment of a second-round, 5-under 66 at the Quicken Loans National on Friday that put Woods in contention for his first victory in nearly two years.
Woods sank the 36-foot birdie putt, which broke hard to the right and trickled over a crest and into the hole. He celebrated with a vintage fist pump and smile.
"If I keep hitting good putts, eventually they're going to go in," Woods said. "I made my share on my back nine and especially that bomb on 8. That was a bit lucky, but I'll take it."
Midway through the second round at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Woods was tied for second with five other players, one shot behind leader David Lingmerth, who shot 65 and was 9 under.
Woods is the host and a two-time winner of the Quicken Loans National, which is being played at RTJ for the first time.
His 66 was his best score in relation to par this year and only his seventh round in the 60s. In eight starts this year, he has missed three cuts and withdrawn once. His best finish is a tie for 17th at the Masters.
Two years ago, Woods was ranked No. 1. Since then, he's had back surgery and changed his swing. Earlier this year, he struggled to make solid contact on basic chip shots. His ranking has plummeted to 266th.
"I know what I'm doing out there. It's just a matter of time before things start to click in," Woods said. "People want the immediate fix, the one tip that's going to work for the rest of their life. It doesn't work that way."
Woods started on the back nine and made three pars before a shockingly bad tee shot on the par-5 14th. He slammed his driver to the turf as the ball traveled only 161 yards and failed to reach the fairway. That led to his only bogey of the day.
"That kind of got me kick-started a little bit. Got me a little fired up," Woods said.
On the next hole, he twirled his driver in satisfaction as the ball sailed down the middle of the fairway. He hit his approach to 3 feet for his first birdie of the day. From then on, he put on a flawless display of ball-striking.
Another long, accurate drive on the 18th led to a 10-footer for birdie. On the first hole, he laid back with a 3-wood before hitting 9-iron to 5 feet for another birdie.
On the par-3 fourth, playing at 223 yards, he attacked a difficult pin and made a 20-foot putt, raising his putter in the air as the ball dropped. He added a two-putt birdie on the par-5 fifth before his dramatics on 8.
Lingmerth, enjoying a breakout season after his victory at the Memorial, made five birdies on his final nine holes for a 65, ending the day with a 20-foot birdie on the par-3 ninth.
"That win definitely boosted my confidence," the stocky Swedish player said. "Now, I feel like I play a little bit more relaxed and there's no pressure from anywhere. So I just go out there and try to have fun and get another win somehow."
The other players at 8 under after two rounds were Jimmy Walker, Pat Perez, Greg Owen, Charles Howell III and Whee Kim.
Walker, who was frustrated on Thursday en route to a 71, bounced back with a 63, including a holed fairway bunker shot from 112 yards for eagle. The key was giving himself birdie chances even when he missed the fairway — and cashing in.
"I don't hit a lot of fairways anyway. It's not that big of a deal," Walker said. "Bunkers out here are nice. I hit some good shots."
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