Mercedes Championships
La Costa Resort & Spa
Carlsbad, California
8th - 11th January 1998

Par 72 Prize Money $1.7 million

Second Round Report

Second Round Scores
First Round Report
First Round Scores

Cook leads as rain delays second round

Carlsbad, California. 9th January 1998 - John Cook picked up three strokes on seven holes during the rain and took a two-stroke lead after today's play in the season-opening $1.7 million Mercedes Championships.

Play was suspended by rain at 5:53 p.m. EST after an earlier rain delay of two hours, 23 minutes pushed back the second round. Only four players completed the round. The second round will resume Saturday morning at 11 a.m. EST, prior to the beginning of the third round.

Most of the leaders did not tee off until after the rain delay. Cook, who fired an opening-round 7-under-par 65 Thursday, had three birdies to move to 10-under through 25 bogey-free holes, two strokes in front of Phil Mickelson.

Cook won last year's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic to qualify for this event and finished 28th on the 1997 money list. Mickelson won two events and $1,225,390 last year.

Mickelson, who shot a 4-under 68 Thursday, briefly shared the lead with Cook at 8-under after four holes but remained there for the next four holes. He is one stroke ahead of Nick Price of Zimbabwe and Frank Nobilo of New Zealand. Nobilo has played eight holes, one more than Price.

Defending champion Tiger Woods is among four golfers still on the course at 6-under. Woods bounced back from an even-par 72 on Thursday and picked up six strokes through 14 holes. He made an eagle on the 538-yard ninth hole for a 32 on the front nine and picked up two more birdies before play was washed out.

"I was thinking going into today I would like to get where I was after two rounds last year. "I'm one stroke off the pace," said Woods, adding, "but I have four holes still to play."

Woods followed a tentative opening-round 70 last year with rounds of 67 and 65 in the rain-shortened event, which begins the PGA Tour's official season. He defeated Tom Lehman with a near hole-in-one to kick off a year that saw him win four events -- including the Masters -- and a Tour-record $2,066,833.

Woods sank a 12-foot eagle putt on No. 9 after a 313-yard drive and a 3-iron from 225 yards to the green. He followed the eagle with a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 10 and an 8-footer on the 12th hole.

"Yesterday I was very nervous," Woods said. "I hadn't played a tournament in a while."

Cook, who has a reputation for very low tournament scores when he gets on a run, has been sizzling hot the first two days. All six of his birdie putts in the first round were from inside 12 feet, and today his three birdies included a chip-in on No. 7, a 6-footer on No. 6 and a 75-yard sand wedge to 6 inches on the second hole.

Others at 6-under include Stewart Cink, who is through 12 holes, and David Duval and Ernie Els of South Africa, who have played eight holes.

Duval is trying to become the first golfer to win four straight PGA Tour starts since Ben Hogan in 1953. He finished second to Woods on the money list with $1,885,308 following a late-season charge that saw him win the Michelob Championship, the Walt Disney/Oldsmobile Classic and the Tour Championship.

The Mercedes Championships is limited to 1997 tournament winners and 30 of the 31 victors are competing. Bill Glasson, who won last year's Las Vegas Invitational, is recovering from arm surgery.