TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

AROUND EAST LAKE

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 15, 2007

Hole Of The Day

No. 15

When the field's scoring average is 67.668, pretty much any hole is a birdie hole, but the 495-yard, par-5 was particularly inviting on Friday. The hole gave up three eagles, 20 birdies and seven pars to the 30 players.

Shot Of The Day

Make that 'putt of the day.' You know the one: a 70-footer at No. 9 by Tiger Woods for eagle - and a front-nine 7-under 28. 'The ball was bouncing every which way,' Woods said. 'It was left of the hole, right of the hole, right of the hole, left of the hole and then it went in.'

Birdies

•Pre-emptive Strikes: Rather than sticking stubbornly to its schedule, the PGA Tour pushed up Friday's tee times almost three hours and managed to complete second-round play as afternoon rain began to fall.

•Smiling Faces: Nothing provides an event with credibility like fans wanting to show up. This week's Tour Championship has that much working for it. Each daily ticket allotment of 25,000 was distributed, the tournament's first sellout since 2000.

•Woody Austin: The Tampa native is proving his runner-up finish in last month's PGA Championship was not a fluke. With back-to-back 65s, Austin is 10 under and will be paired with Woods in today's final group.

Bogeys

•Cinderella: Steve Stricker's improbable rally to the first FedEx Cup title is turning into a pumpkin. In second place on the points list and with a chance to jump in front of Woods, Stricker is nine shots back after 36 holes.

•Sabbatini's Putter: Rory Sabbatini is the only player in the field who has not made a bogey, but he's nine shots out of the lead at 4 under. That's because he's last in the field in putting, with 60 putts through 36 holes.

•PGA Grand Slam: The PGA of America's annual gathering of the season's four major championship winners took a big hit this week when Woods, the PGA Championship winner, announced he was shutting down for the next 2 1/2 months to spend time with his new daughter. Jim Furyk will take Woods' place, joining Zach Johnson, Padraig Harrington and Angel Cabrera in Bermuda, Oct. 16-17.

Words Of Wisdom

'I mean, they do roll. It's just they're really a lot slower than what we're accustomed to. The ball is not really bouncing. You have to hit it so hard that you're actually hitting the ball on top of the grass and on top of the little bumps.' - Austin, on putting East Lake's damaged greens

By The Numbers

1

Bogeys made by Austin through 36 holes.

5

Years Woods has won six or more tournaments in a season, including 2007.

8

The number of golfers in the 30-man field who did not break par in second-round play.

9

Speed in which the putts are rolling on East Lake damaged greens after a Stimpmeter reading of 12 during last year's Tour Championship on the same course.

11

One-putts by Adam Scott on his way to a second-round 66.

Mick Elliott

AROUND EAST LAKE

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT