Tiger shoots 9-under 63 in stellar second round in Turkey
Inspired by sixth-ranked Stanford’s upset of second-ranked Oregon in football on Thursday night, Tiger Woods put on his own show Friday in the second round of the Turkish Airlines Open at The Montgomerie Maxx Royal in Antalya, Turkey.
Woods fired a bogey-free, 9-under-par 63 — the lowest round of the tournament — to pull within one stroke of the lead after two rounds. He actually played 26 holes on Friday, completing the final eight from Thursday’s darkness-suspended opening round, which included a three-hour rain delay. He would up with a first-round 70.
Tiger has a 36-hole score of 11-under-par 133 and is in fifth place, one shot behind Victor Dubuisson, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Justin Walters. The 78-player field will play the third round on Saturday, and there is no cut.
Paired with Stenson and Justin Rose on a warm, sunny day, and taking full advantage of the soft greens, Woods birdied three of the first four holes. After a par at No. 1, he followed with birdies at the par-3 second, par-4 third and par-5 fourth. Tiger added birdies at the par-4 sixth and par-4 ninth, hitting a beautiful approach to about six feet at the latter, to make the turn in 5-under 30.
On the back nine, he birdied the par-4 10th, then reeled off four straight pars. Woods posted a birdie at the par-4 15th, where he flagged his approach shot to short range. Following a par at No. 16, Tiger finished strong with birdies at the par-4 17th and par-5 18th holes. At the latter, he hit his second shot in the left greenside bunker and got up and down.
Tiger actually missed several makeable putts and failed to birdie the par-5 11th and 13th holes, or he could have flirted with a 59. As it was, the five-time winner on the PGA TOUR this year was happy to vault himself back into contention for the weekend.
“I missed four putts inside 10 feet,” he said. “That round was close to being very special, but I made a bunch of putts, too. So, I’m happy with 63.”
Tiger, who attended Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., is a huge fan of the football team and stayed up much of the night to watch the game on his iPad before heading to the golf course. The Cardinal held on for a 26-20 victory over the previously unbeaten Ducks.
“Very proud of my boys,” Woods said after his nine-birdie performance.
