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Doral-Ryder
Open
Doral Golf Resort & Spa
Miami, Florida
5th - 8th March 1998Par
72 Prize Money $2 million Second
Round Report Second
Round Scores
First Round Report
First
Round Scores Herron,
Cook, Bradley share the lead - Montgomerie and Elkington miss the cut Miami,
Florida, 6th March 1998 - Tim Herron assumed the unlikely position of leading
two tournaments at once, shooting a 5-under-par 67 today (Friday) to move into
a three-way tie for the top spot after the second round of the $2 million Doral-Ryder
Open in Miami. Herron,
who shares the lead with Tom Watson at the suspended Pebble Beach National Pro-Am,
moved to 7-under 137 through 36 holes at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa and is
tied with John Cook and Michael Bradley. Cook and Bradley fired 6-under 66s. Jim
Furyk tied the course record with a 10-under 62 and moved into a nine-way tie
for seventh place at 5-under 139. Also two shots off the lead are Tiger Woods,
three-time champion Ray Floyd and Fiji's Vijay Singh, who extended his streak
of consecutive cuts made to 50. Herron
and Watson were tied for the lead at Pebble Beach last month when rain forced
tournament officials to postpone the final round until August 17th, the day after
the final round of the PGA Championship. "I
didn't even think about it until you brought it up," Herron said. "(Pebble
Beach) you kind of just put behind you a little bit and kind of think of it as
a bonus. So I'm just trying to play golf, trying to play well on the Florida swing." Herron,
who missed the cut at this tournament last year, had five birdies on the first
10 holes, then finished his bogey-free round with eight straight pars. "I
played pretty consistent, played the par-5s well," he said. "I hit in
quite a few bunkers off the fairway, but I putted well. I recovered out of the
bunkers, had a few long leg putts and two-putts. My putting is getting better,
I need to start driving a little better." Cook
had seven birdies and a bogey as he tries to turn things around after back-to-back
poor finishes at the Tucson Chrysler Classic and the Nissan Open. "Tucson,
it was terrible," he said, referring to his 73rd-place finish. "Last
week was the next step above terrible, I don't know what that would be. This week
has been a little bit better than that. So it's progressing." Cook
played the back nine first and had four birdies to make the turn at 5-under. He
had three birdies and a bogey on the front side, escaping a bunker on the par-3
ninth hole to save par. "I
hit a lot of good shots and I hit some I got away with," Cook said. "I've
been grinding. I didn't want to let this round slip away. And I think that's what
I'm better at now is grinding, trying to make the best of the round that you have."
Bradley caught fire with an eagle-birdie-birdie stretch on the front nine and
played the par-5s at 4-under. He is seeking his second PGA victory and first since
the 1996 Buick Challenge. "If
you drive the ball well, especially on the par-5s, you can take advantage of them,"
Bradley said. "I think the key every week out there is just driving your
ball well. It sets up everything. If you don't drive your ball well, it's very
tough to score. If you have a good day, not driving it well, you shoot 1-, 2-under,
but you're not going to shoot 5-, 6- or 7-under. Driving the ball crooked, it's
not going to happen, especially on the weekend." Curtis
Strange, the two-time U.S. Open champion who was tied for the lead after Thursday's
opening round, is part of the logjam at 5-under following an even-par 72. Golf
legend Jack Nicklaus had a 2-over 74, but survived the cut by one stroke at even-par
144. Among those who will not be playing this weekend are defending champion Steve
Elkington (146), three-time winner Greg Norman (147), Colin Montgomerie (148),
Justin Leonard (152) and Ben Crenshaw (153). The
par-72 Doral Golf Resort & Spa course measures 6,939 yards. First
prize is $350,000.
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