| Dublin,
Ohio, 29th May 1998
- Fred Couples, a proven winner who let a couple of victories slip
away this year, and Len Mattiace, a non-winner in 107 PGA Tour events, were tied
for the lead at 9-under-par 135 in today's rain-interrupted second round of the
Memorial Tournament. Harrison
Frazar, a newcomer coming on like gangbusters, and Mark Calcavecchia were two
strokes back at 137 as a talent-laden, jam-packed leaderboard promised a wild
weekend of golf. An
impressive pack of players were within four strokes of the leaders, including
Tom Lehman at 138 and Ernie Els, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III and Steve Jones
at 139. "It's
such a logjam," Couples said after shooting a 67. "If you go out and
shoot 70 or 71 on Sunday you are not going to win." It
will likely take two more rounds in the 60s for someone to walk away with the
$396,000 first prize. The
Memorial is known as much for its rain delays as for its golf. A thunderstorm
stopped play for 2 1/2 hours during the afternoon, the 14th time in 38 rounds
over the last nine years that a round had been delayed, interrupted or canceled
because of rain. Trevor
Dodds was on the course at seven under par, two strokes off the lead with one
hole left when play was stopped. When play resumed he made a bogey on the final
hole and finished at 138. Tiger
Woods, whose round included a double bogey when he needed two shots to get out
of a bunker on No. 14, shot a 74 and was at even-par 144, nine strokes back. Couples
let the Masters slip away with a ball in the water on No. 13 in the last round
and lost the Byron Nelson when he splashed a shot on No. 17 on Sunday, both times
with errant 6-iron shots. On
Friday, he hit that 6-iron to 15 feet on the 182-yard eighth hole and made the
putt for one of his seven birdies as he shot a 67 on a firm and fast Muirfield
Village course. "It's
fun to play good again," said the 1992 Masters champion who picked up his
13th career victory at the Bob Hope tournament in January. "It
was easier a long time ago," Couples said, referring to 1991 and '92 when
he won five times. "But now when I get there I feel pretty good." Reflecting
on his failures to close at victories at the Masters and the Byron Nelson, Couples
said: "If I keep playing good on Sunday until the last hour, then I have
a problem." Mattiace,
looking for his first win in his fourth full year on tour, had a chance for that
victory at the Players Championship in March when he made seven birdies in a 12-hole
stretch in the final round and was one stroke behind Leonard with two holes to
play. But two
balls in the water on the island-green 17th hole led to a quintuple bogey 8 and
sunk his chances. "The
Players Championship gave me a lot of confidence," Mattiace said about that
experience. "I made nine birdies on Sunday. That's pretty good. The last
couple of months I've grown a lot as a player." He
displayed some of that maturity today in a round with five birdies and no bogeys.
Carried by strong iron play, the longest birdie putt he made all day was 15 feet
and "probably four or five other times" he missed birdies from inside
20 feet. "It's
nice to go around Jack's course with no bogeys," he said about the Muirfield
layout designed by tournament organizer Jack Nicklaus. "I think I missed
some chances to go even lower." Frazar
is looking for his first victory on tour but the way he has progressed the last
three weeks is astounding. After only one top-30 finish in 11 career starts, he
finished second at the Byron Nelson two weeks ago and fourth at the Colonial last week. "It
took me a a while to get kind of calmed down," he said about adjusting to
the tour. "I was in awe of seeing everybody in the clubhouse and I had to
learn how to manage the golf course." He
must be a fast learner. His 69 today was his ninth round out of his last 11 that
was below 70. Among
those missing the cut for the weekend were Phil Mickelson, Scott Hoch, Fuzzy Zoeller
and Nicklaus. Woods,
whose iron play was weak and putting even weaker, has proven time and again that
he is capable of coming from far back. Last year at Pebble Beach he trailed by
10 strokes and finished with a 63 and 64 to miss a playoff by one stroke. In
Thailand this year, he trailed Els by 11 strokes with 36 holes to play and caught
him, winning in a playoff. "I
got to play two good rounds and see what happens," Woods said. "But
more importantly I've just to go out there and play my own game and try to get
myself back in it, and if not -- oh well." | 
