Augusta – “The British are coming! The British are coming!” Paul Revere famously warned the Americans before the battles of Lexington and Concord. Now, it’s time to warn the Brits. Tiger Woods is coming.
Trailing only Englishmen Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter heading into weekend play at the 2010 Masters, Woods is back to his old ways at Augusta National – he’s in striking distance of the leaders and in position to earn his fifth green jacket.
“It feels good. It feels really good to be back and in contention,” Woods said Friday after firing a two under 70, putting him six under for the tournament. “I usually put myself in contention most years here, and this year, I’m right there.”
Woods got off to a shaky start Friday, hooking his first tee shot into a group of tall trees left of the fairway. But after bending a high-arching iron shot between the impeding pines, Woods was off and running on his steady yet largely unspectacular second round.
“I was hitting the ball better and I was putting better (than Thursday), even though I didn’t shoot as low a score,” Woods said. “I think that’s a factor of the conditions.”
Winds were gusting and greens were faster Friday despite overnight rain in Augusta. Combined with more difficult pin placements, player’s scoring average was more than one stroke higher in Friday action. After 31 of the 96-man field shot under par for the first round, only 17 scored in the red for round two.
But England’s Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter were seemingly unaffected by the harsher conditions, with Westwood’s 69 one shot off Poulter’s field-best four under 68 Friday. Moving into Saturday play, Westwood and Poulter are tied for the 36-hole lead at an eight under 136. If an Englishman wins the Masters, he would be the first to do so since Nick Faldo in ’96. If that Englishman is Poulter, the 34-year-old known for his outrageous and colorful golfing attire, he contends he doesn’t need to prepare his Sunday fashion.
“Absolutely anything goes with a green jacket,” Poulter said Friday.
Sitting two shots off of the lead in a tie for third place, Woods is familiar with this position. In his four wins at Augusta, only once has he held the 36-hole lead, and in 2005, he came back to win from a six-stroke deficit at the halfway point, defeating Chris DiMarco in a playoff.
Weekend play has historically produced Woods’ best Masters rounds. In his 14 years as a professional, his combined weekend scores have been better than his combined first and second round scores 12 times. Only in ’99, when he finished tied for 18th, and in ’04, when he finished tied for 22nd, have Woods’ scores regressed on the weekend.
Saturday will be an important day for Woods, traditionally his best scoring round at the Masters. Never has Woods won a major - and he’s won 14 of them - without at least a share of the 54-hole lead.
Divots: Notable players who missed the three over cutline – Padraig Harrington (+5), Rory McIlroy (+7), David Duval (+7), Stewart Cink (+8), Vijay Singh (+10), Jim Furyk (+12)…defending champion Angel Cabrera made a birdie putt on 18 to make the cut at three over…Thursday leaders Fred Couples and Tom Watson are both three under after shooting 75 and 74, respectively…Phil Mickelson, K.J. Choi, Ricky Barnes and Anthony Kim are all tied with Woods at six under…In all, 48, or half of the original field of 96, made the weekend cut.
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