A week after beating the best on the PGA Tour, Tiger Woods put himself in position to beat the best in the world with birdies on the final two holes Saturday that left him one stroke behind Miguel Angel Jimenez and Chris Perry in the American Express Championship at Sotogrande, Spain.
“That’s a huge lift,” Woods said. “Knowing you’re only one back . . . that’s obviously made up in one hole easily.”
Jimenez turned Valderrama Golf Club into a valley of cheers with a 2-under-par 69, although a three-putt bogey on the 18th dropped him to 209 and a share of the lead with Perry, who shot 72.
Jimenez grew up about an hour away near Malaga. He already has won twice and finished second in Spain this year.
“Let’s see if tomorrow I can have a bit more luck and have a good day again,” he said.
Woods has been winning everywhere and a victory Sunday would cap what already has been a remarkable season.
The 23-year-old golfer could become the first since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win four straight tournaments and the first since Johnny Miller in 1974 to win eight times in one season on the PGA Tour.
“It helps me out on the fact that I know I can do it,” Woods said. “I’ve been doing it. And I take some confidence in that.”
Only this time, Woods has a traffic jam to navigate. In all eight of his victories this year, including one in Germany, he has had at least a share of the lead through 54 holes. Along with having to make up a little ground against Jimenez and Perry, a bunch of proven players are all around him.
Hal Sutton, the Ryder Cup star who has been playing his best golf of the season the last two months, had a 69 and was tied with Woods at 210, along with Nick Price, Tom Lehman and Justin Leonard.
The group at 211 includes Jose Maria Olazabal, Scott Hoch and Lee Westwood, who needs a victory to win the European tour money list. Yet another Spanish star, 19-year-old Sergio Garcia, was at 212 along with Jim Furyk and Tim Herron.
Senior Tour Championship: Bruce Fleisher and Bruce Summerhays found different ways to the same place, sharing the lead through three rounds at Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Fleisher, the tour’s money champ at more than $2.3 million, plodded through with a one-bogey 66, while Summerhays’ 68 included an eagle, a double bogey and one of only two birdies–that was nearly an eagle–on the difficult 430-yard 18th hole.
The two, who shared the opening-round lead, are at 10-under 206, two strokes ahead of 60-year-old George Archer and three in front of Gary McCord, who fired the tournament’s low round of 8-under 64.
LPGA Mizuno Classic: Maria Hjorth tied her career low with an 8-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead after two rounds of the U.S. LPGA event at Otsu, Japan.
Hjorth, who has been fighting since Monday with an airline that lost her golf clubs, had three birdies on the front side and five on the back for her third 64 of the season and a 10-under 134 total.
