Compared to the start, Woods improved five shots at the Southern Hills Country Club in the US state of Oklahoma – after his round of 69 he is now three over par. This is only his second PGA tournament since his serious car accident.
Zalatoris ahead of the weekend
The best rounds of the day came from Bubba Watson (63 shots), Mito Pereira (64) and Will Zalatoris (65). The American Zalatoris, with a total of nine under par, took the lead at half-time and heads into the weekend as the favorite with a one-shot lead over Chilean Pereira.
Justin Thomas climbed up to third with another round of 67, three strokes behind, while Watson helped the record round jump from 56th to fourth. Watson had the chance to set a new best with a seven-meter putt, but couldn’t take it and now shares the record with others with Woods.
Cejka and Kaymer weak
Rory McIlroy, who had led after day one, is now tied for fifth, five strokes behind. Cejka with a 79 lap and Kaymer with a 77 lap, on the other hand, deteriorated much more and are no longer there on the final laps.
However, both had significantly more wind and more difficult conditions in the morning than the players who started later. The world number one, Scottie Scheffler, and Dustin Johnson are out.
Woods had to worry about rounds three and four after a double bogey on lane eleven, but then saved himself with birdies on lanes 13 and 16. “I had to push myself and start working. That’s what I did,” Woods told ESPN. “Hopefully I’ll run hot at the weekend, then you never know.”
Source: dpa