Woods ran off three straight birdies early in his round, survived a rough patch around the turn and kept the stress to a minimum Friday in his round of 3-under 68 in the Frys.com Open in San Martin, Calif., that assured he would be around for the weekend.
“I don’t like missing cuts, period,” Woods said. “If I miss the cut, that means you can’t win the tournament on the weekend. I’ve got a shot at it this weekend.”
He still was seven shots behind Paul Casey, who is making a revival of his own.
Casey, at No. 135 on the money list and in danger of losing his PGA Tour card, has been fighting a foot injury since the middle of May. He showed signs of getting better by winning in South Korea last week, and then he got over jet lag in time to post a 7-under 64.
That put him at 8-under 134. Bud Cauley, who turned pro this summer and is trying to avoid having to go to Q-school, had a 66 and was one shot behind. Fog delayed the start of the second round by 2 hours, 20 minutes, meaning it would not finish until today.
Ernie Els, a surprise entry to this Fall Series event, made a steady move up the leaderboard and had an 8-foot birdie putt to tie for the lead on the 16th hole. He missed it and was at 7 under, and will have two holes to play today.
HOT START FOR TSENG
Top-ranked Yani Tseng shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Chella Choi after the first round of the LPGA Hana Bank Championship in Incheon, South Korea.
Tseng had 10 birdies and three bogeys on the Sky 72 Golf Club course. The Taiwanese star leads the tour with five victories, including major wins in the LPGA Championship and Women’s British Open, and also has won three other events this year.
Two-time defending champion Na Yeon Choi and Sandra Gal were two strokes back at 67. Suzann Pettersen and Michelle Wie opened with 72s.
ALLEN SHOOTS 9-UNDER
Michael Allen shot a 9-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead over John Cook after the first round of the Champions Tour’s Insperity Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.
Allen, the 2009 Senior PGA Championship winner, had nine birdies in his bogey-free round at The Woodlands Country Club. Cook, the 2008 champion and a three-time winner this year, also had a bogey-free round.
Schwab Cup points leader Tom Lehman and Mark Calcavecchia opened with 67s.
MCILROY ON TOP
U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy shot a 2-under 69 for a share of the second-round lead with Rickie Fowler, Y.E. Tang and two others in the OneAsia Tour’s Korea Open in Cheonan, South Korea.
Fowler and Yang shot 70s to match McIlroy, Mo Joong-kyung (66) and Bronson La’Cassie (67) at 7-under 137 on the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club course.
SLATTERY LEADS
England’s Lee Slattery shot a 6-under 66 to take the second-round lead in the Madrid Masters.
Slattery had an 11-under 133 total at El Encin Golf Hotel. Spain’s Eduardo de la Riva and Italy’s Francesco Molinari were a stroke back after 67s. Top-ranked Luke Donald, the winner last year at Real Sociedad Hipica Espanola Club de Campo, was five strokes back after a 70. John Daly missed the cut with rounds of 76 and 74.
TRACKING LOCAL GOLFERS
THIS WEEK: Frys.com Open, Thursday through Sunday, CordeValle Golf Club, San Martin, Calif.
In the field: Olympia’s Andres Gonzales.
Second-round score: 2-over through 10 holes.
Position: Gonzales is even-par, and sits tied for 57th. Paul Casey leads at 8-under 134.
Recap: Play was suspended because of darkness, leaving Gonzales and many in the afternoon groups still on the course. The Capital High graduate had bogeys at the 14th, 15th and 18th holes on his first nine holes, but left with a better taste in his mouth when he hit a 9-iron approach from 151 yards close, and sank the 6-foot putt for his only birdie.
Tee time Today: Second-round play will resume at 7:30 a.m.
Todd Milles, staff writer
