KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — First came the black cloud that has been following Tiger Woods on the weekend at the majors. The real storm showed up a short time later Saturday in the PGA Championship, halting the brilliant start by
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — First came the black cloud that has been following Tiger Woods on the weekend at the majors. The real storm showed up a short time later Saturday in the PGA Championship, halting the brilliant start by Rory McIlroy and giving Woods a chance to stop his slide at Kiawah Island.
Dark clouds seem to have followed Woods on the weekend at majors this year. On Saturday at Kiawah Island, they might have saved him.
Facing a 7-foot putt to avoid another bogey, the darkening sky crackled with thunder and play was suspended with 26 players having to return for a marathon finish today. That might be good news for Woods, not so much for Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy opened with three birdies and two par saves, none bigger than on the third hole when his tee shot lodged in a thick tree limb that was rotting about 7 feet off the ground. He reached up to remove the ball, took a penalty drop and made a 6-foot par putt to continue on his way.
It all looked so easy for McIlroy, who was at 6-under par through nine holes and tied for the lead with Vijay Singh when the third round was suspended.
For Woods, it was a grind on another windswept day at Kiawah Island.
He failed to birdie the par-5 second hole, and then badly missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the next hole. He hit a spectator with a fairway metal off the tee at the fourth, pulled a shot into the mounds short of the par-5 fifth hole and made yet another bogey on the par-5 seventh with two poor shots to the right, a wedge over the green into a waste area and another missed putt.
He made everything Friday for a share of the 36-hole lead. He made nothing Saturday.
Woods already was five shots behind and facing a 6-foot par putt on the eighth when the siren sounded to stop play. He was at 1 under.
The wind eased as dark clouds gathered over The Ocean Course, and rain poured down on this barrier island about an hour later.
The final round was to be played in threesomes of both tees, rare for a major championship.
Singh, the 49-year-old who has not been in contention at a major in six years, opened with a 15-foot birdie putt and made a strong recovery from trouble on the par-5 seventh by making a 25-foot putt to join McIlroy atop the leaderboard.
Right behind was Adam Scott, showing no signs so far of a British Open hangover.
Scott blew a four-shot lead with four holes to play last month at Royal Lytham & St. Annes a month ago by closing with four straight bogeys. He came to life toward the end of his front nine Saturday four birdies in a five-hole stretch, capped by a 45-foot birdie putt on the ninth.
Scott was at 5-under par. Carl Pettersson, tied with Woods and Singh at the start of the round, was at 4 under through eight holes.
Farr East dominates
Toledo Classic
SYLVANIA, Ohio — South Koreans Jiyai Shin, I.K. Kim, So Yeon Ryu and Hee Kyung Seo dominated the leaderboard, sharing the top spot at 11-under 202 through the third round of the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic.
Two more South Koreans, Inbee Park and Chella Choi, were a shot back along with Japan’s Mika Miyazato.
Shin and Kim each shot 5-under 66 for the low rounds of the day, while Ryu had a 67 and Seo a 68.
South Koreans have dominated the LPGA Tour in recent years, but have seldom taken over a tournament like the one at Highland Meadows. In addition to filling the top four spots and six of the top seven, South Korean players had seven of the top 11 positions and 11 of the top 25 through 54 holes.
Ko, Green reach
U.S. Women’s Amateur final
CLEVELAND — Lydia Ko and Jaye Marie Green advanced to the 36-hole final in the U.S. Women’s Amateur, winning semifinal matches in wet and windy conditions at The Country Club.
The 15-year-old Ko, the South Korean-born New Zealander who tops the world amateur rankings, beat Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn 3 and 1.
The 18-year-old Green, from Boca Raton, Fla., edged Canada’s Nicole Zhang 2-up.
At 15 years, 3 months, 18 days, Ko is the second-youngest finalist in Women’s Amateur history, and could become the second-youngest champion. Both records are held by Kimberly Kim, who was 14 years, 11 months, 21 days when she won the 2006 tournament. Ko won the New South Wales Open in January in Australia at 14 to become the youngest player to win a professional tour event.
