Posted on 03/24/2007 7:43:38 AM PDT by Zuben Elgenubi
Woods back in contention
March 24, 2007 - 9:14AM
A 45-minute session on the practice green was all it took for Tiger Woods to shrug off a putting performance he described as pathetic at the WGC-CA Championship.
The world number one surged into a two-shot lead by firing a flawless, six-under-par 66 in Friday's second round at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa, needing only 26 putts compared to his tally of 32 the previous day.p>"I made two good par putts in my 18 and I kept it clean all day," five-times champion Woods told reporters after posting a seven-under total of 137.
"No dropped shots and, under these conditions, I'm very proud of that," he added, referring to Friday's gusting winds and occasional rain.
Woods said he spent 45 minutes working on his putting with caddie Steve Williams after his 71 in Thursday's opening round.
"I told Stevie what I was feeling and he told me what he saw," the 31-year-old American explained.
"We just kind of worked through it and finally got it to the position where I felt I could release the blade again.
"Yesterday I felt like I just could not release the putter head. I was dragging it quite a bit and I don't putt well that way."
Woods saved par with tricky 10-footers on the ninth and 18th greens on Friday to stay in the hunt for his 56th PGA Tour title.
"Any time you make big par putts, I think it's more important to make those than birdie putts," he said. "You don't ever want to drop a shot, and I was able to make those."
Woods, bidding for his sixth title in the tournament's eighth edition, is a formidable front-runner, going on to win 26 times out of 32 on the PGA Tour after holding or sharing the 36-hole lead.
Australia's Rod Pampling, alone in second place after shooting a 69 on Friday, accepts the rest of the field face an uphill task.
"It's pretty amazing what he does when he gets in the front," twice PGA Tour winner Pampling said. "But we certainly don't rule ourselves out.
Prediction is Tiger wears a red shirt tomorrow.
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Tiger Woods wrapped up his victory in the WGC-CA Championship with only a little trouble Sunday, and now has won five different PGA Tour events three years in a row. With all aspects of his game clicking, the world No. 1 will head to Augusta National in two weeks as the clear favorite. ...more
World Golf Championships-CA Championship
Final
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiger Woods | -10 | F | +1 |
| 2 | Brett Wetterich | -8 | F | -1 |
| T3 | Robert Allenby | -6 | F | -5 |
| T3 | Geoff Ogilvy | -6 | F | -2 |
| T3 | Sergio Garcia | -6 | F | -2 |
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