| Irving,
Texas 15th May, 1998 -
The day started with the smoky haze clinging to the course at the GTE Byron
Nelson Classic making the sun look like a faint 40-watt lightbulb trying to shine
through a layer of gauze. And
maybe the eerie light that slowly gave way to sunshine as the day burned on lulled
everyone to sleep. Only
Hal Sutton and Robert Damron were able to find anything close to magic in the
mist at the Four Seasons Resort today. Both put up a 65 as Sutton took lead at
9-under-par 131 with Damron two strokes back, along with Fred Couples and first-round
leader Bob Friend. Wedged
in between at 132 after 36 holes was Harrison Frazar, a local boy looking for
his first win as a pro. "I
was a little surprised that no one went lower than they did,'' Sutton said after
a round in which he stuck his irons close all day, making five birdie putts inside
15 feet. Among
those who didn't distinguish themselves was Tom Watson, who slipped from his 64
on Thursday to a 70 and was in a knot of players that included Phil Mickelson
and John Cook at 134. Tiger
Woods backed off from his 65 with a mediocre 71, but was still only five strokes
off the lead at 136, along with Jim Furyk and Mark O'Meara. While
birdies were not plentiful on the TPC and Cottonwood Valley courses, pars were
a necessity. "It
seems like if you make bogey in this weather in this tournament you kind of feel
like you're getting lapped,'' Couples said after a 67. Frazar,
who has finished higher than 30th only once in 10 starts this year, made three
birdies on four holes beginning on No. 7 and made his only bogey of the day on
the 12th hole when a gust of wind blew his 136-yard approach shot over the green.
"The greens
were a little harder, a little faster and the wind was gusting a little more,''
Frazar said after he followed a 64 with a 68. "It was just enough to throw
a little bit of doubt into your mind.'' On
Thursday, 19 players shot 66 or lower, including a 63 by Friend. The second round
was entirely different as none of the leaders were able to sprint from the pack.
Friend managed only an even-par 70, with one bogey and one birdie. Sutton
and Damron made the best moves, shooting their 65s without making any bogeys.
Fortunately for Frazar, they made the meat of their moves after he had finished
play. "I
saw that no one was making a move,'' said Frazar, a 26-year-old who played his
high school golf in the Dallas area. "That gave me some confidence.'' Woods,
the defending champion and coming off a win last week at the BellSouth Classic,
was ragged off the tee and not crisp with his irons, but nonetheless was enormously
entertaining. The
385-yard first hole was playing downwind and he cut off the dogleg and landed
just short of the green with his tee shot, the ball rolling through the group
putting and into the rough behind the green. But
Woods chipped poorly, leaving the ball about 10 feet short and missed the birdie
putt. On No.
3, he used a 3-wood for accuracy, but drove into the water on the right side.
After a penalty, he knocked it on the green and rolled in a 35-foot putt to save
his par. His
only birdie of the day came on the par-5 seventh hole when he hit the green in
two on the 533-yard hole and two-putted from 25 feet. His
20-foot birdie putt on the final hole rolled to the lip of the cup and hung there.
"That was
kind of typical of the whole day,'' Woods said. "It was a minor miracle that
I shot 1-over. I didn't have anything today but I made a lot of par putts I needed
to make.'' Still,
Woods's explosive power means he is still very much in contention on a course
vulnerable when the wind isn't blowing. "I
need to shoot in the mid to low 60s tomorrow to get back in it,'' he said.
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