Saturday, June 02, 2001
Memorial Golf Notebook
Rain could shorten tourney to 54 holes
By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DUBLIN — In the back of Tiger Woods' mind during his 5 1/2-hour round that didn't end until just before 8 p.m. Friday was the number “54.” As in the number of holes that this 72-hole tournament could be shortened to if the rain continues.
There was a two-hour rain delay Friday morning.
“I wanted to shoot as low a number as I could in case it winds up being a 54-hole tournament,” Woods said. “We don't know if it's going to be 54 holes, but I didn't want to have to make up too much ground (after Friday's round) if it turns out to be only 54 holes.”
Woods is in excellent shape: two shots back going into the weekend, whether it means 18 or 36 holes. He shot a three-under par 69 Friday, getting a valuable birdie on No. 17.
The rain and wet conditions slowed play, but some of the players who were out on the course late may have benefitted if they were able to get by their fatigue. Woods said the rain slowed the putting surfaces considerably, something the earlier players did not mention. They felt the greens were softer, more receptive to iron approaches, but were still fast on putts.
“You could be somewhat ag gressive on a 10-foot downhill putt,” said Woods.
AZINGER'S TAKE: Second-round leader Paul Azinger could not believe the tens of thousands of fans who stayed through the rain delay.
“Clearly the fans in Ohio are just crazy about golf,” he said. “The majority of cities we play in, there would not have been a thousand people out there today. It was just amazing. It was almost like a British Open. It doesn't matter what the weather is like; they don't go home.”
SMITH WEIGHS IN: Former Ohio State star Chris Smith has been extremely loose all week, not concerning himself so much with practice. He's been chowing down on chicken wings at the campus BW-3 and showing his kids the apartment where he used to live.
It's worked: he shot a one-under 71 Friday and is only two strokes off the lead.
“I was messing around with (former Buckeye football star Chris) Spielman on his radio show (Friday) morning and having fun,” he said. “Even by the time we sat around for a couple of hours (during the rain delay), I still felt good. Even after three-putting the first two holes, I didn't find myself starting to worry about, "Oh, you're making bogeys and you're shooting yourself out of it." I felt calm and comfortable.”
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Memorial Golf Notebook
