Print
    02 June 2012| last updated at 09:53AM

    Sabbatini leads with Woods one back at Memorial



    0 comments

    DUBLIN, Ohio: Rory Sabbatini posted a second straight 69 on Friday to seize the halfway lead at The Memorial, with 14-time major champion Tiger Woods leading a group just one shot adrift.

     

    Sabbatini had a 36-hole total of 139 on the rain-sodden par-72 Muirfield  Village course.
     
    Woods, a four-time winner of the tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus, carded  a 69 and was tied for second on 139 with Spencer Levin (72) and first-round  leader Scott Stallings (73).
     
    A victory come Sunday for Woods would be significant. It would tie him with  tournament host Nicklaus for second on the all-time PGA Tour wins list with 73.
     
    But Woods wasn’t looking that far ahead.
     
    “We’ve got a long way to go for that,” said Woods. “Yeah, obviously it  would be nice, but I’ve still got half a tournament to go.”
     
    Woods moved briskly up the leaderboard with three birdies in his first six  holes. Some missed short putts kept the round from being even better, including  a three-footer at the 11th that would have given him the lead at six-under par.
     
    At the next hole, Woods was in trouble with a tee shot into the gallery.
     
    After a poor chip, he finally reached the green in three, and took a  double-bogey from 13 feet.
     
    Woods, who has endured an erratic season, shook it off with back-to-back  birdies at 15 and 16, had a birdie chance at 17 then drained a testing  four-footer at the final hole to keep the pressure on Sabbatini.
     
    “I missed a couple out there, but overall I knew in these conditions to  shoot something in the 60s was going to be a pretty good effort,” Woods said. 
    "Pleased with my round.”
     
    Rory McIlroy couldn’t say the same. Northern Ireland’s world number two,  who defends his US Open title in a fortnight, carded a seven-over par 79 and  missed the cut — his third early exit in as many starts.
     
    McIlroy wasn’t the only marquee name to miss the cut. Bubba Watson, winner  of the Masters in April, and PGA Champion Keegan Bradley, also exited early.
     
    A heavy storm prevented play for almost two hours on Friday, and South  Africa’s Sabbatini endured the wettest conditions in the afternoon.
     
    After a bogey at the first, Sabbatini rebounded with a 12-foot birdie at  the fourth.
     
    A wayward drive at the par-four sixth led to another bogey, but a birdie at  the ninth saw him make the turn at even par for the day.
     
    At the par-five 11th, Sabbatini laid up, hit his third shot to 10 feet and  rolled in the birdie putt.
     
    He made back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15 before saving par at 16 and again  at 18 — where his drive found the right rough but he managed to hit his  approach to six feet.
     
    “It’s only halfway, so I’m happy to be where I am right now,” Sabbatini  said. “I’ve got two more days ahead of me, and I’ve just got to continue to  focus on what I’ve been doing for the last two days.”
     
    Since winning his sixth PGA Tour title at the Honda Classic in March of  last year, Sabbatini has posted only two top-10 finishes.
     
    “It’s definitely felt like things have been there but just really haven’t  been putting the numbers up,” he said.
     
    “Ultimately, golf is a game of numbers, so it doesn’t matter how you hit  it, it’s how you score. So in that sense it’s been frustrating, and it’s great  to finally see a little bit of reward for the work that we’ve put in.” -- AFP

    Leave Your Comment


    Leave Your Comment:

    New Straits Times reserves the right not to publish offensive or abusive comments and those of hate speech, harassment, commercial promos and invasion of privacy. Your IP will be logged and may be used to prevent further submission.The views expressed here are that of the members of the public and unless specifically stated are not those of NST.