By Rahul Banerji
Playing in front of empty galleries, Tiger Woods carded a second successive 6-under par 64 to open up a two-shot lead on 12-under 128 after day two of the $9.75 million Zozo Championships in Japan on Saturday.
With organizers keeping spectators off the course in the interest of safety after 10 inches of rain fell on the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba on Friday, Saturday’s second round was played in virtual silence.
The second round start was further delayed on Saturday morning as course staff worked to undo the damage of the overnight deluge, but Woods was in the zone right away.
Woods overcame the soft conditions and an early birdie-bogey sequence to finish two shots ahead of overnight co-leader Gary Woodland (10-under 130), turning on the heat with some dazzling iron play that left him with virtual tap-in birdies more than once.
No bother
Nor did the silence and absence of crowds, other than a brave few who climbed trees outside the course or peeked through the fences, seem to bother the 15-time major winner.
“I made a couple putts today and I went to put my hand up and I’m like, don’t put your hand up, there’s no one clapping, so just move on about your business and just go ahead and keep trying to plug my way up the board, and I was able to do that,” Woods was quoted as saying on the PGA Tour website.
Catch it all here at The Zozo Championship
“I’m surprised that I was able to score as well as I have; usually that takes a little bit of time. But this golf course is a little bit on the softer side. I’ve been able to strike my irons pretty well this week so far and that’s been nice.
“I left a lot of my approach shots below the hole and I was able to be pretty aggressive, and the greens are a little bit slower than they were yesterday.
“I had a good feel on the putting green, which was nice. Hit a lot of putts from below the hole and making sure that I put a lot of right hand into it and released it and it felt good all day.”
Tiger will play his final two rounds alongside US Open winner Woodland and fellow-American Keegan Bradley who was in shared third place alongside local star Hideki Matsuyama four shots behind the leader.
Long schedule
Play will carry over into Monday as the field starts the third round early Sunday and plays till darkness sets in. Those not completing the final round will be back on Monday to finish, a PGA Tour statement said.
“After spending the morning repairing bunkers and working tirelessly to get the course in appropriate condition, Rules and Competitions staff assessed the playability of 18 holes and have determined that due to the excessive amount of rain the par-4 10th hole will be significantly shortened for round 2.
“Preferred lies were in effect for the second round. For safety reason, spectators were not permitted to be on site for the second round.
“The third round will begin at 6.30 am on Sunday, with players in groups of three starting of tees 1 and 10.
“Players will remain in their third-round groupings and return to the course for the start of round 4 and play until darkness. Play will be completed on Monday with an anticipated start of 7.30 am,” the statement said.
Scary record
Woods has held the second round lead, or co-led, on 49 prior occasions to the Zozo Championship of which he has gone on to win on a stunning 38 times. Of the 33 outright leads, he has converted into titles on 28 occasions, including a streak of 16 consecutive victories between 1997 and 2003.
That is from the record books. The ease in Tiger’s swing on the day was remarkable and he made the point that the knee surgery nine weeks ago had also brought his game back on track, especially with reading putts, when he was unable to bend or get down fully to story his lines.
That in turn affected the back, but with a restored knee and a functional back, Tiger was unstoppable on Saturday.
Woods was one-under 34 at the turn with two birdies against one dropped shot, but his game really caught fire on the back nine.
Blemish-free
He opened – and closed – with two birdies and picked up one more shot on a par-3 in between for a blemish-less nine holes, and on this form, will be hard to stop from equaling Sam Snead’s all-time PGA Tour record of 82 titles.
But there is still some way to go and Woods knows it.
“It’s just going to be a long day,” Woods said of Sunday.
“Eat a lot of food tonight and then tomorrow, same thing, make sure that I eat enough and feel good about my warm‑up session.
“I felt like I hit it a little bit better today … that’s nice going into a long day like tomorrow because it’s going to be a bit of a test physically and mentally to play for, what, up to 10 hours. Hopefully I can play well and get myself right there.”
President’s Cup potential Woodland will be playing with his captain for the final two rounds and was pleased with his 4-under round on the day.
“I didn’t have my best stuff today. Hit some putts early that didn’t go in and fortunately I made three big putts there on 16, 17 and 18, which was awesome.
“I had some opportunities to post a pretty good number, but all in all, I’m happy to not have my best stuff and shoot 4 under. I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing.
“You know, outside of today I’ve been hitting the ball really well, so continue to do that and make a couple putts and we’ll see what happens.”
Also read: Tiger unleashes the beast in Zozo Championship opener
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