Singh leads by one from Begay

Vijay Singh couldn't care less about The Streak. The way he and Tiger Woods played today in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, that might not be an issue much longer.

While Singh soared to a 5-under-par 67 to take a one-stroke lead over Notah Begay through two rounds, Woods suffered a serious setback in his bid to become the first player since Ben Hogan in 1948 to win six straight PGA Tour events.

Woods needed a heroic par on the 18th at Spyglass Hill to salvage a 1-over 73, which left him eight strokes behind Singh -- and no guarantee he'll have two rounds to make it up.

"I didn't shoot myself out of the tournament," Woods said. "If there are two more rounds, I still have a chance. If there's one more round, I have to shoot low and hope for the best."

Singh made several nice par saves in a bogey-free round at Pebble Beach, which put him at 133 with a trip to Spyglass -- the most difficult of the three courses -- awaiting him Sunday.

"I'm not really worried about his streak," Singh said. "I'm just going to go out there and try to win the golf tournament. Sooner or later, somebody is going to break that."

Begay also played Pebble and had a 68, although his his round of eight birdies and four bogeys was far from the consistency Singh displayed on a day that featured everything the Monterey Peninsula has to offer -- clouds, wind, rain, sunshine.

Adding to the fickle weather were unbearable waits on just about every shot. It took Woods 6 hours, 17 minutes to finish his round.

"It's difficult to get your rhythm," he said. It becomes even tougher when you don't hit the ball, chip or putt very well, which all added up to Woods's first round over par on tour since the final round of the National Car Rental Classic at Disney World back in October -- a streak of 13 rounds.

That isn't the only streak that could come to an end this week.

Because of rain and high wind earlier in the week, the third round will be played Sunday and the final round -- weather permitting -- on Monday. A year ago, the final round was washed out and Payne Stewart was a 54-hole champion.

If that holds true again -- Pebble has had only one 72-hole tournament the past four years -- then Woods has his work cut out for him.

"I've made up eight shots in one day before, but I had a lot of other guys shoot bad," Woods said.

He was seven off the lead at Pebble in 1997, closed with a 64 and finished one stroke behind. In the Johnnie Walker Classic two years ago in Thailand, he was eight strokes behind Ernie Els in the final round, caught him in regulation and won in a playoff.

David Duval, tied with Singh and Begay after the first round, also played Spyglass and quickly fell off the leaderboard. He made his first bogey of the week on his opening hole -- with a wedge in his hand -- and had a 76 to fall nine strokes out of the lead.

Woods's PGA Tour winning streak dates to the NEC Invitational in August. Begay says there's no bounty for the player who can stop it, but he did offer some perspective from when they were teammates at Stanford.

"If you can beat Tiger, usually you're going to be near the lead," Begay said. "That's how it was in school. If I can just beat him, I know I'm either going to win the tournament or I'm going to be right there."

That's not Singh's approach.

The former PGA champion wasn't worried about Woodss' streak, or the weather so wacky that rain blew in his face and the sun cast long shadows during his round.

Singh was at peace with himself throughout the round, especially with his putter. He is one of the best when he gets it going with the flat stick, and his assessment over two rounds should make him a good candidate to win this week.

"I haven't putted this consistently for two days for a while," he said. "I'm not fighting anything. I pick a line and hit it, instead of worrying about how much it's going to break."

Singh got off to a quick start with short birdie putts on Nos. 2 and 4, a 12-foot bunker shot he holed on the par-3 fifth, and a 7-iron from 102 yards to 15 feet on the par-3 seventh.

Begay might be leading if not for the par-3s. He bogeyed three of them, including No. 17, when he tried to finesse a 4-iron into the wind that came up some 30 yards short.

"Embarrassing," he said.

All was not lost. He did manage eight birdies on a tough day at Pebble, and has a chance to win for the third time in his last 12 PGA Tour events.

For all that he's been through over the past couple of weeks, Begay would like to be noticed for his golf instead of his problems off the course.

He pleaded guilty to aggravated drunken driving in New Mexico, although he has earned high praise for the way he has owned to his mistake. He'll spend a week in jail right after the Match Play Championship.

"I realize I'm really lucky to be out here, and I appreciate the opportunity to just compete," he said. "With the court's decision behind me, maybe I just need to win this so I can give someone else something to write about."

DIVOTS: Ken Griffey Jr. hit a wedge to about 40 feet on the 121-yard 15th hole at Spyglass Hill. Then he put another ball just inside that -- by throwing it from the tee. ... Lift, clean and place has been in effect since the start of the tournament. The last time the ball was played down at Pebble was in 1992. ... Gary Nicklaus was at 4-under until making two double bogeys on the back nine at Poppy Hills. He finished at 1-over 145. ... The last player to go wire to wire at Pebble -- at least a share of the lead after every round -- was Tom Shaw in 1971. ... Paul Azinger played the back nine at Poppy Hills in 40, and the front nine in 29.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page