Frustrations boil over at waterlogged Open

The wetter it got, the worse it seemed. Chasing Tiger Woods is tough enough, but in the gloom and cold of the U.S. Open the frustration almost became too much for Sergio Garcia.

On a brutal day on a soaked Bethpage Black, Garcia slammed clubs and balls, made a gesture at a heckler and then suggested that perhaps Woods was getting advantages other players weren't.

``If you get the luck of getting the good side of the draw, like somebody seems to do in these kind of tournaments, and you're the best players in the world and you make a lot of putts, everything works,'' Garcia said Friday. ``It's tough to beat a guy when things are going (like that).''

Garcia, who started the day one shot off the lead, was upset that he had to play in worse conditions than Woods and that officials didn't halt play when the course got waterlogged in the afternoon.

``If Tiger Woods would have been out there I think it would have been called,'' Garcia said after a 74 put him seven shots behind.

Woods, who had an early tee time, was already dry when Garcia and his other closest pursuers ventured out to try and chase him down on a course that kept getting wetter and longer the more holes they played.

It was bad enough they had to play in the rain. Worse yet, they had to know they were playing for second.

``If he doesn't win this week, I don't know what else can happen to him, because the course is in perfect shape for him to win right now,'' Garcia said.

Woods played in a steady rain and cold, but conditions deteriorated for the afternoon starters who were also faced with standing water and a course that was playing even longer.

Garcia went to bed Thursday night a shot off the lead, but he was already three back after Woods shot a 68. Two holes into his round, a double-bogey dropped him to five back.

``Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy this morning, but it was almost impossible this afternoon,'' Garcia said. ``So I'll say it was probably three or four shots easier, no doubt about it.''

The U.S. Golf Association official in charge of competition said there were times that play was close to being called. But Tom Meeks said as long as the greens stayed puttable, play would continue, and they did.

Meeks denied Woods got an advantage over the other players

``If you're going to say certain players were under unfair conditions, I think you'd have to say they were all there under unfair conditions,'' he said.

Garcia slammed a club to the ground in frustration at one point, and on his 17th hole threw his ball hard onto the green after missing a putt, taking a chunk out of the green.

He also made a gesture to a fan who was heckling him on the 16th hole.

``The people have to realize that we're trying as hard as we can out there, and sometimes they make some stupid comments,'' Garcia said. ``There was a finger. It feels like they don't make those comments to the bigger guys, maybe they're afraid of them or something.''

Equally as frustrated as Garcia was Phil Mickelson, who began the day three shots back and ended it eight shots behind after a 73.

But Mickelson said having to play in the afternoon wasn't the only reason he was so far behind Woods.

``He played well. I thought it played a little easier in the morning, but not eight shots better,'' Mickelson said. ``I need to get some good breaks to make a move on Tiger.''

That doesn't seem likely, even to Mickelson, who found himself doing the math.

``He knows what to do. He's done it before. We saw him at Pebble Beach a couple of years ago. We saw him at Augusta in 1997,'' Mickelson said. ``When he gets in his mode, he's able to shoot some scores that other guys just aren't able to shoot.''

About the only challenger who wasn't unhappy was Padraig Harrington, who shot a 68 and was three shots behind. Harrington also played late in the day, but said he didn't mind the conditions.

Of course, Harrington is Irish and knows a bit about playing in bad weather.

``I was never looking for it to be suspended,'' Harrington said. ``I had my head down. Basically, I wasn't getting distracted by the weather.''

Harrington, who will play Saturday with Woods, said the only thing he can do is play his own game and hope for the best.

``I'm not going to intimidate him on the teebox tomorrow, that's for sure,'' he said.

For someone to catch Woods, they will likely have to make birdies, since he has made only four bogeys in two rounds and shows no signs of backing up.

If you don't believe it, just ask Woods.

``In any U.S. Open it's always going to be difficult to make up shots because it's not easy to make birdies,'' Woods said. ``You get rewarded for making pars.''