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De Jonge Grabs One-Shot Lead at ATT National
Quiet Please: Players React to No Fans
De Jonge Grabs One-Shot Lead at ATT National
BETHESDA, Maryland, June 30, 2012 (AFP) - De Jonge birdied three holes but hardly anyone witnessed it in person at the Congressional Country Club after spectators were told to stay away because of a severe storm that struck the area overnight.
De Jonge said playing without spectators seemed odd at the start but then once they got going it was all about managing your golf game.
"At first it was definitely very strange," he said. "Then we kind of got used to it.
"Just the no buzz. It was hard to get the adrenaline going, kind of felt like you were playing a Tuesday practice round or a qualifier."
Tiger Woods carded a four-under 67 to climb into a share of second place at minus-six. He is tied with first-round leader Bo Van Pelt (67) and South Korea's Noh Seung-yul (69).
Woods moved to within one shot of the lead with four birdies on his first 10 holes.
"It was amazing we even got it in," Woods said. "So that was good. Today I just tried to make a run and fight back to get myself in the tournament."
The storm snapped trees, tore temporary tents from their foundations and scattered debris across the course.
Officials delayed the start of the round for six hours, then the players went off the first and 10th tees in threesomes. Because of safety concerns, fans and volunteers were told to stay away so just players, their family members, security and media were allowed in.
The USPGA Tour issued a statement saying winds in the range of 70-80 mph (112-128 km/h) were reported in the area near Washington.
Along with downed branches around the course, a 75-foot (22m) tree fell on the fairway of the 14th hole and many of the wooden signs identifying the holes were blown down.
Woods said he has played without galleries following him for a few holes before but not an entire round.
"It was very similar to what we faced when we play overseas in practice rounds or when we have dangerous conditions, thunderstorms blow in in the summertime and all the spectators are taken off the golf course and then we go back out and finish in the evening and have a few holes to play," Woods said.
"I've played in front of people like this, but not generally for an 18-hole competitive round."
De Jonge, who is chasing his first USPGA Tour title, finished 54 holes at seven-under 206.
"Winning here would be that much more special," said De Jonge of Harare. "It's obviously a great tournament with a great field, so that would be a good feather in your cap. But obviously I've got a lot of work to do tomorrow."
Second-round leader Hunter Mahan stumbled to a two-over 73. He finished three rounds tied with fellow American Billy Hurley (66) at five-under-par 208. Jhonattan Vegas (68) is one stroke back at four-under.
Tournament officials said they hope to have most of the downed trees removed by in time for Sunday's final round.
Quiet Please: Players React to No Fans
Jim Furyk couldn’t remember the last time he played a round of competitive golf in front of so few people.
“It was just so quiet,” Furyk said. “It was odd.”
Thanks to a powerful storm Friday night that left nearly a half-million residents in the area without power and caused significant damage, spectators and volunteers weren’t allowed at Congressional for the third round of the AT&T National, which was delayed more than 5 hours as crews cleaned up fallen trees and other debris scattered across the course.
The only people on the course when Brian Harman teed off in the first group off Saturday afternoon were a handful of employees, club members and media.
“It was strange,” Harman said.
Beau Hossler, the 17-year-old amateur who made a near-historic run at the U.S. Open earlier this month, on the other hand is used to playing in front of small crowds.
“It kind of felt like a junior tournament,” said Hossler, whose only audience was his mom, stepdad, sister and cousin. “It is nice to have some people to bounce it off if you hit it in the trees, but other than that it was no different. We were lucky to get out there and play.”
Or just lucky to be able to get on the property.
Fallen trees blocked the entrance to Congressional before they were cleared out in the wee hours of Saturday morning as crews worked through the night to get the course playable.
Despite the damage, it was.
It just wasn’t safe, or even passable in some spots, for spectators. 
Even players had some difficulty getting to the course, though.
Hossler is staying in a house 3 miles away and said it took more than 45 minutes to get to Congressional.
Harman’s hotel in nearby Tysons Corner still didn’t have power when he left for the golf course.
The only player who did have a sizeable gallery was Tiger Woods. It was small by his standards, however, with a few dozen people watching Woods move up the leaderboard.
The rest of the field enjoyed more quiet.
“It was peaceful,” Furyk said. “But it’s more fun when you get a reaction from the fans.”
Scores on Saturday after the third round of the $6.5 million PGA Tour's ATT National (USA unless noted, par 71):
206 - Brendon de Jonge (ZIM) 68-69-69
207 - Seung-yul Noh (KOR) 70-68-69, Bo Van Pelt 67-73-67, Tiger Woods 72-68-67
208 - Billy Hurley 69-73-66, Hunter Mahan 70-65-73
209 - Jhonattan Vegas (VEN) 71-70-68
210 - Robert Garrigus 70-67-73, John Mallinger 70-72-68, Ryan Palmer 74-67-69, Pat Perez 69-69-72
211 - Sang-Moon Bae (KOR) 75-68-68, Jason Day (AUS) 69-72-70, Charley Hoffman 72-68-71, Marc Leishman (AUS) 70-70-71, Chez Reavie 72-72-67, Vijay Singh (FIJ) 68-70-73, Nick Watney 70-72-69