* Hunter Mahan gunning for third win of season
* Course conditions set up like a major
(adds quotes, details)
June 29 (Reuters) – Tiger Woods clawed his way back into
contention at the AT&T; National while Hunter Mahan took control
with a blistering second round six-under 65 to open a two-shot
lead at the Congressional Country Club in Maryland on Friday.
Mahan, who is seven-under 135 overall, captured the WGC
Match Play event and Houston Open earlier this year and is
seeking to become the first player to register three wins for
the season.
Seven birdies and a lone bogey catapulted the American up
the leaderboard, two clear of compatriots Robert Garrigus (67)
and Jimmy Walker (69), and Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jonge (69), who
are at 137. Woods is three shots further adrift on two-under.
“I hit a lot of good shots. I hit so many fairways and
greens, I made it easy on myself,” Mahan told reporters.
“This is a pretty punishing golf course if you get off line
a little bit but I put myself in some great spots to make
putts.”
Mahan birdied the first but a bogey on the next halted his
momentum until he picked up shots on four of his final six holes
on the front nine to ensure his went out in 32.
A string of six pars followed before he sandwiched a clutch
par save on 17 with birdies on the previous hole and the
difficult last to pad his advantage out to two shots.
Woods is tied 11th at the halfway mark after a solid
three-under 68.
MAJOR SIMILARITIES
On a scorching day in Bethesda, conditions again proved
tough for a majority of the field but Woods remained cool under
the pressure, despite likening the layout to that of a major
championship.
“It’s playing like a U.S. Open, it really is. It’s quick,
it’s dry. You shoot something in the 60s and I think that would
have been a good score,” the former world number one said of the
difficulty.
“I shot 68 today, which was a very good score. I’m only five
back and I’m right there.
“I was just trying to stay patient the whole day. That’s why
I train, that’s why I run all those miles. If you’re carrying a
little bit of body fat, it’s going to be a little insulation out
there.
“This is when fitness does help, and I figured that’s one of
the reasons why I’ve had the success I’ve had in the elements.”
Woods started on the back nine and opened with six straight
pars, two of which were impressive saves, before eagling the
par-five 16th by sinking a 40-foot putt and celebrating with a
trademark fist pump.
His excitement was tempered on the first, where he carded a
bogey five after twice finding the rough and missing a six-foot
par putt.
A birdie putt from a similar distance on the fifth took him
back to two under for the day before a pinpoint wedge approach
on the eighth to within three feet put him in prime position to
mount a weekend charge.
(Reporting by Ben Everill in Los Angeles; Editing by John
O’Brien)
