Associated Press
Friday, March 24
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Colin Montgomerie was on his way toward a great round until it came to an end -- where else? -- on the island.
For the second straight day, the famous 17th hole at the TPC Stadium Course played a big role in shaping the leaderboard. No one was more penalized than Montgomerie, who bounced an 8-iron off the back of the green and ended up with a double bogey.
That turned a round of 5-under into a 3-under and left him tied for 10th at even-par 144.
"I played solidly today and didn't do anything destructive until, of course, the most destructive hole that we play," Montgomerie said.
Duval on the defense
David Duval thought he had put the bad golf behind him after a triple bogey on No. 8. Then came No. 18. For the second consecutive day, Duval splashed his tee shot into the lake that runs down the left side of the fairway. He shot a double-bogey 6 and finished the day at 4-over, putting a serious damper on thoughts of defending his title. "I simply had two terrible holes today that cost me," Duval said. On the par-3 eighth, he teed off into a bunker. He bladed his second shot out of the bunker onto the downslope of another bunker. He chipped the third shot into that bunker, then hit his fourth shot out. After a two-putt, he had made triple bogey and was sitting at 5-over. Slowly, he worked his score down to 2-over, but saw nearly all that progress vanish on the final hole. "I'm thinking I'm going to finish at 1-over for the event and be right in the thick of it, and then I'm at 4-over," Duval said. "I am not particularly pleased right now." Woods' adventure
Tiger Woods took the concept of risky shotmaking to a new level at No. 17. His tee shot hit the green and kept rolling and rolling, right to the edge. That forced him to play the second shot with his feet partially hanging off the island. Before he lined up, he gave one last bit of instruction to his caddie, Steve Williams. "I said, 'If a gust of wind comes, just grab me. I'll try to hold my balance as long as I can, but just grab me,' " Woods said. "Luckily, the wind wasn't gusting and I was able to make a decent shot up there and made a good putt." Cut above
John Daly made a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to finish at 6-over and make the cut by one stroke. He was as surprised as anyone to be hanging around for the weekend. "It's a golf course where I haven't had any success whatsoever," Daly said. "But it's a great purse, a great venue and it's our championship. I come here to support it. If I make the cut, great, but really, I have no expectations of playing that good." In 1997, Daly withdrew from this event after an all-night drinking binge. Last season, it was a hip injury that forced him to pull out after shooting an 83 in the first round. This year, he overcame a triple bogey on No. 17 on Thursday and needed a minor miracle on the last shot of the day to stay for the weekend. "Most guys come here teeing it up to win a championship," Daly said. "I just try to make the cut and maybe something good will happen on the weekend." Daly's best finish here was 16th in 1998. Divots
Among those missing the cut were Notah Begay III (7-over), Phil Mickelson (10-over), Jose Maria Olazabal (10-over), Sergio Garcia (10-over), Jean Van de Velde (10-over) and Ben Crenshaw (14-over).
Mickelson is changing his schedule this year. He'll go to the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta next week, a tournament he rarely plays, to tune up for The Masters.
Hal Sutton, the leader after two days, says the course is tough but fair and that the tour has done a good job keeping it that way. "Some places you think, 'How could they make it worse, but they did?' At this course, it seems most of the changes they make are good changes."
Friday, March 24
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Colin Montgomerie was on his way toward a great round until it came to an end -- where else? -- on the island.
 | |
| Despite his trouble at No. 17, Montgomerie is just six shots back. |
David Duval thought he had put the bad golf behind him after a triple bogey on No. 8. Then came No. 18. For the second consecutive day, Duval splashed his tee shot into the lake that runs down the left side of the fairway. He shot a double-bogey 6 and finished the day at 4-over, putting a serious damper on thoughts of defending his title. "I simply had two terrible holes today that cost me," Duval said. On the par-3 eighth, he teed off into a bunker. He bladed his second shot out of the bunker onto the downslope of another bunker. He chipped the third shot into that bunker, then hit his fourth shot out. After a two-putt, he had made triple bogey and was sitting at 5-over. Slowly, he worked his score down to 2-over, but saw nearly all that progress vanish on the final hole. "I'm thinking I'm going to finish at 1-over for the event and be right in the thick of it, and then I'm at 4-over," Duval said. "I am not particularly pleased right now." Woods' adventure
Tiger Woods took the concept of risky shotmaking to a new level at No. 17. His tee shot hit the green and kept rolling and rolling, right to the edge. That forced him to play the second shot with his feet partially hanging off the island. Before he lined up, he gave one last bit of instruction to his caddie, Steve Williams. "I said, 'If a gust of wind comes, just grab me. I'll try to hold my balance as long as I can, but just grab me,' " Woods said. "Luckily, the wind wasn't gusting and I was able to make a decent shot up there and made a good putt." Cut above
John Daly made a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to finish at 6-over and make the cut by one stroke. He was as surprised as anyone to be hanging around for the weekend. "It's a golf course where I haven't had any success whatsoever," Daly said. "But it's a great purse, a great venue and it's our championship. I come here to support it. If I make the cut, great, but really, I have no expectations of playing that good." In 1997, Daly withdrew from this event after an all-night drinking binge. Last season, it was a hip injury that forced him to pull out after shooting an 83 in the first round. This year, he overcame a triple bogey on No. 17 on Thursday and needed a minor miracle on the last shot of the day to stay for the weekend. "Most guys come here teeing it up to win a championship," Daly said. "I just try to make the cut and maybe something good will happen on the weekend." Daly's best finish here was 16th in 1998. Divots
