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Woods Grabs Share of Halfway Lead at PGA
Mickelson Rebounds under Tough Conditions
Woods Grabs Share of Halfway Lead at PGA
KIAWAH ISLAND, South Carolina, Aug 10, 2012 (AFP) - Tiger Woods birdied two of his first four holes then held on in blustery conditions for a one-under 71 Friday to seize a share of the halfway lead at the 94th PGA Championship.
Woods, who is chasing his first major title since the 2008 US Open, got his round off to a flying start Friday by one-putting three of his first four holes.
Woods reached a four-under 140 total and shares the lead with two-time PGA Championship winner Vijay Singh (69) and first-round leader Carl Pettersson (74).
"The putts were going in so I felt good about that," Woods said. "It was tough out there."
The Kiawah Island Golf Resort course was playing several shots longer on Friday after the wind and rain kicked up Friday, making for some often severe playing conditions.
The scoring average was just over 78 -- the highest ever in a PGA Championship by more than two strokes.
"It was hard staying steady a couple of times I got blown on my downswing," Woods said. "The hard part is getting blown all over the place. There is no such thing as easy tap in."
This is the first time The Ocean Course has hosted a PGA Tour event and at 7,676 yards it the longest course in major championship history.
Woods said the "sticky" grass on the ocean-side course is a lot different than what they are used to.
"You can't run the ball up because the grass is too sticky," he said. "We don't play golf courses like this. It is not a typical PGA Championship venue."
Singh finished with five birdies and two bogeys as he teed off in the morning when the weather was the worst. He won this event in 1998 and 2004 in a playoff at Whistling Straits.
"You know, after a while you don't really think about your score. You just think about each hole, each shot and just try not to mess up," the 49-year-old Singh said.
"Those two footers are important out here. On 16, 17, 18, it was so hard just standing on the greens trying to make a putt.
"It was one of my better rounds. I didn't strike the ball as good, but I scored really, really well, and I think that was the key."
Like Woods, Pettersson had a late tee time which at least allowed them to stay dry in the afternoon.
Pettersson, who began on the back nine, had a tough start and a shaky finish Friday.
He began with bogeys on two of his first three holes then birdied 16, one and three, before making bogey on three straight beginning at No. 6. He parred the last hole to finish at two-over on the day.
"It was difficult the whole day," said Pettersson, who was born in Sweden but recently became an American citizen. "I was glad I started on the back to kind of get those out of the way. But overall, I played pretty good."
Ian Poulter is alone in fourth after shooting a 71 that matched Woods for the low of the day. Jamie Donaldson and Rory McIlroy, the 2010 US Open champion, are tied at two under.
Play was suspended at 8:16 p.m. local time with Joost Luiten as the lone player who didn't finish his round. He'll return to play the 18th hole early Saturday morning.
Mother nature took over on the par-five 579 seventh hole as a squall moved in on the marquee group of Ernie Els, Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson.
The strong winds -- blowing in off the ocean -- broke umbrellas and those that could hold onto them had to point them sideways into the driving rain.
The wind pushed Els' three-wood tee shot right into the rough, leaving him with 365 yards to go to the front of the green on his second shot.
Despite the horrible conditions reigning British Open champion Els managed to scramble and make par on the hole, finishing the day with a three-over 75.
South Africa's Els is tied for 37th, seven back of the leaders.
"We were on seven, and we got put on the damned clock," said Els. "A bit of that rain came in, and man, I was just trying to put anything in play, and I took three-wood, and I hit it right.
"I made an unbelievable five on the par-five. But that's when I knew, hey, it's blowing a little bit."
Mickelson Rebounds under Tough Conditions
KIAWAH ISLAND, South Carolina, Aug 10, 2012 (AFP) - Four-time major winner Phil Mickelson has left folks alternately scratching their heads and gasping in amazement with his play on the PGA Tour this year. 
The 42-year-old Mickelson shot a brilliant fourth round 64 to beat Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach then contended at the Masters. But in his last few starts, Mickelson has failed to impress. He also tied for 65th at the US Open.
The left-handed American appeared to be getting his game back together Friday by shooting a one-under 71 in difficult conditions in the second round of the 94th PGA Championship.
He had an early tee time on Friday, when the most of the rain hit.
Mickelson has a two-round total of even-par 144 and is four shots back of the leaders.
"If I'm within four shots or so heading into the weekend, that's a really good position where I can actually feel my game get better as the week's gone on," he said.
Starting on the back nine, he began his round with back-to-back birdies, finishing with three birdies, two bogeys and 13 pars.
"The great thing about this course is if you play well and you hit good shots, you can make pars, you can make some birdies," Mickelson said. "And if you don't, you're going to make some big numbers, because it really does reward good shots and it penalizes bad ones.
"You have to challenge and take on the crosswinds, and if you get it going with the crosswinds, your misses are going to be very big. And so it's a difficult test."
Mickelson struggled to a two-over 73 in Thursday's opening round, which put him seven shots back of first round leader Carl Pettersson.
Only two players, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, have more starts in a PGA Championship than Mickelson, the 2005 PGA Champion. He is tied for third with eight career top-10 finishes at the PGA Championship.
Kiawah Island, South Carolina, Aug 10, 2012 (AFP) - Scores on Friday in the second round of the PGA Championship at par-72 Kiawah Island Resort (Ocean Course), Kiawah Island, South Carolina (USA unless stated, all times Local):
140 - Vijay Singh (IND) 71-69, Tiger Woods 69-71, Carl Pettersson (SWE) 66-74
141 - Ian Poulter (ENG) 70-71
142 - Jamie Donaldson (WAL) 69-73, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 67-75
143 - Aaron Baddeley (AUS) 68-75, Adam Scott (AUS) 68-75, Blake Adams 71-72, Trevor Immelman (RSA) 71-72
144 - Phil Mickelson 73-71, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 68-76, Peter Hanson (SWE) 69-75, Tim Clark (RSA) 71-73
145 - Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (ESP) 67-78, Francesco Molinari (ITA) 70-75, Zach Johnson 72-73, Marcel Siem (GER) 72-73, Pat Perez 69-76, Martin Laird (SCO) 71-74, John Daly 68-77, Keegan Bradley 68-77
146 - Fredrik Jacobson (SWE) 71-75, Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP) 69-77, K.T. Kim (KOR) 69-77, Bo Van Pelt 73-73, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 70-76, Scott Piercy 68-78, Marc Leishman (AUS) 74-72, K.J. Choi (KOR) 69-77, Greg Chalmers 70-76, Ryo Ishikawa (JPN) 69-77, Ben Curtis 69-77, Gary Woodland 67-79, Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 68-78
147 - George McNeill 71-76, David Lynn (SCO) 73-74, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 70-77, Ernie Els (RSA) 72-75, Y.E. Yang (KOR) 73-74, Alex Noren 67-80, John Senden (AUS) 73-74, Robert Garrigus 74-73, Cameron Tringale 69-78, Steve Stricker 74-73
148 - Matt Every 72-76, Jimmy Walker 73-75, Bubba Watson 73-75, Rich Beem 72-76, Retief Goosen (RSA) 73-75, Justin Rose (ENG) 69-79, Paul Lawrie (SCO) 73-75, Michael Hoey (NIR) 78-70, Toru Taniguchi (JPN) 72-76, Bill Haas 75-73
149 - Brendon de Jonge (ZIM) 71-78, Marcus Fraser 74-75, Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 75-74, J.J. Henry 72-77, Ken Duke 71-78, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 70-79, Darren Clarke (NIR) 73-76, Jim Furyk 72-77, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 70-79, Seung-Yul Noh (KOR) 74-75
150 - Sang Moon Bae (KOR) 72-78, Luke Donald (ENG) 74-76, Chez Reavie 74-76, Dustin Johnson 71-79, Jason Dufner 74-76, David Toms 72-78, John Huh 72-78