Tiger regains magic, roars to tourney lead
HOYLAKE, England — Tiger Woods stood in the middle of the 14th fairway with a dazed look, so far away from the green he couldn't tell where his ball landed.
"It went in?" Woods asked caddie Steve Williams.
Yes, it did.
With another magical shot in a career already filled with them, Woods seized control of the British Open with a 7-under-par 65 today and cast aside the notion his poor performance in the U.S. Open was anything more than a rare off week for the world's greatest golfer.
Woods already had grabbed the lead when he stood over a 4-iron at No. 14, some 200 yards from the flag. He ripped a low shot that caught the edge of the green and hopped three more times before striking the stick, dropping straight in for eagle.
Walking toward the green, Woods heard the gallery roar but didn't know where his ball ended up. When Williams told him it was in the cup, the golfer broke into a wide grin, gave his caddie a high-five and shrugged his shoulders, almost as if he was apologizing. Williams jokingly attempted to put the bag on Woods' shoulder as the two made a triumphant walk up the fairway.
"It's a bonus," Woods said. "Trust me, I'm not trying to put the ball in the hole. I'm just trying to put it on the green and get out of there with a 4."
Instead, he wrote down a 2 — and may have just written off the rest of the field.
Woods had another birdie on the par-5 16th and strolled to the clubhouse with a 12-under 132 and a three-stroke lead over resurgent Chris DiMarco, who also shot 65 for a 135 total. Only one other golfer, two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen at 8 under with two holes to play, was within five strokes of Woods at that point, though many of the top players, including Phil Mickelson, had yet to tee off.
Everyone faces the daunting task of chasing down Woods, who never has been beaten when he has a 36-hole lead in a major. He's 6-0 when running up front at the halfway point, most recently a year ago at St. Andrews for his second British Open title.
"I made a few bombs," said Woods, who also made a long birdie putt at No. 8. "Right now, I'm playing with what the golf course allows me to do. You just never know. Everyone's got an opportunity. Chris and I both shot low numbers, so it can be had. I'm just glad I got mine in early so I can get some work in this afternoon."
That can't be a comforting thought for the rest of the field: a rested, well-practiced Woods returning on the weekend with a lead.
DiMarco, who still has hopes of making the U.S. Ryder Cup team, wasn't even sure he would play the British after his mother, Norma, died two weeks ago from an apparent heart attack.
But instead of dropping out, DiMarco decided this historic links course along the Irish Sea would be an ideal place for everyone in his family to do some healing and begin getting on with their lives. So far, golf has been the perfect salve.
"If I hadn't come, she would have been mad at me," DiMarco said of his mother, who attended many of his tournaments and always enjoyed watching her son play.
DiMarco birdied the first two holes and moved to the top of the leaderboard with an even longer run of four in a row starting at No. 8. The American was the first to break Graeme McDowell's 1-day-old record for the best Open score at Royal Liverpool — until Woods matched it less than an hour later.
