Tiger Woods is starting right where he left off last year. Scary thought.
Woods, who set the tone for 1997 when he won the Mercedes Championships with a near hole-in-one on the first playoff hole, is playing this year’s event at Carlsbad, Calif., in an eerie imitation of last year.
It all seemed the same, right down to the rain.
Woods stormed back into contention in the tournament Friday before nature unleashed a storm of its own and washed out the second round with only four players having finished 36 holes.
Starting the day at even par, seven strokes behind leader John Cook, Woods made an eagle on the 538-yard ninth hole for a 32 on the front nine and picked up two more birdies to get to 6-under through 14 holes before heavy rain washed out play.
Cook got seven holes in and was 10-under for 25 holes, two strokes ahead of Phil Mickelson and three better than Nick Price and Frank Nobilo.
Woods, Ernie Els, David Duval and Stewart Cink were all at 6 under par with Woods having played 14 holes..
“I was thinking going into today I would like to get where I was after two rounds last year,” Woods said. “I’m one stroke off the pace.”
Then he paused and that smile washed over his face.
“But I have four holes still to play,” he said with a grin.
Woods was to play those four holes when the second round resumes early Saturday morning, followed by the third round.
Woods followed a tentative opening-round 70 last year with rounds of 67 and 65 to get into the playoffs in the rain-shortened event with Tom Lehman.
Rain washed over the course again Friday.
“It was standing water in the bunkers and on the greens,” PGA Tour tournament director Ben Nelson said. “There was no place to drop the ball to be able to play.”
Woods played Friday’s round at La Costa with the fire that has become his trademark.
His eagle on No. 9 came on a 12-foot putt after a 313-yard drive and a 3-iron from 225 yards to the green.
On No. 5, he nearly holed a putt from the fringe with his 3-wood, raising the club over his head as the ball neared the hole and dropping it in disgust when the ball stayed out.
He chose to putt out on No. 14 after play was suspended and when his 15-footer for birdie just missed, he swung his club in anger and cursed himself.
“I had the feel of the greens and the flow of the round,” he said about his decision not to mark his ball and finish the hole on Saturday. “I didn’t want to wait any longer. I just pushed it.”
Nike Tour: The weather situation was no better on the other coast as half of the 144-player field in the Nike Lakeland (Fla.) Classic were left in darkness on the course.
But Woody Austin shot a 6-under-par 66 before play was stopped to join Michael Clark (67), Chris Couch (68) and Jeff Brehaut (67) as leaders in the clubhouse.
Among those still on the course and facing a long round Saturday is Casey Martin, the rookie with a leg disability who is suing the PGA Tour for the right to ride a cart in competition.
Martin, who finished the first round at 6-under and one shot behind Jay Overton, was 7-under for the tournament after playing only six holes Friday and faces a 30-hole test Saturday.
