Tiger Woods made a charge on the easier North course, but Tom Lehman played well on the tough South to hold onto a lead. The story of the day was not Lehman’s ageless play or Tiger’s possible comeback from a disappointing 2004, but the fog that delayed play and prevented 59 players from completing their rounds before darkness fell over Torrey Pines.
Lehman’s 10-under 62 (North) and 5-under 67 (South) put him at -15, tying the tournament record set in 1996 by none other than Lennie Clements. (No, Roger is the pitcher. Lennie who? We don’t know; don’t ask us. He finished in third.) Tiger Woods finished 17 holes, leaving the relatively easy 18th on the North course for Saturday morning, and sits in third at -12.
Who’s in second? Australia’s Peter Lonard, who also completed 17 holes on the North course, at -12, three back of Lehman and one ahead of Tiger. We expect Lonard and Woods to birdie the reachable par 5, though, so round three should begin with Lehman at -15, Lonard at -13, and Woods at -12. Dean Wilson, even through 12 Friday and -9 total, is the only other player within six shots of Lehman who has holes left to play in round two (see the leaderboard below).
Tiger birdied 3 of the first four holes after going -5 (including a bogey) on the front before stalling with some bad drives holes ten through twelve before the delay. Lehman did a tad better, finishing with six straight birdies on the North track. He said “I felt the fog delay actually worked in my favor. I was struggling a bit with my swing, and I went to the range and hit balls for an hour and a half, and felt like I got my rhythm back.”
Lehman, who hasn’t won since the 2000 Phoenix Open, has struggled to notch another victory lately. He’s been in contention several times, but has faded. “I think your good golf comes when you’re not thinking about the results,” Lehman said. “You’re just thinking about executing. I think I made 19 birdies in 36 holes.”
Pos Name Today Thru Total R1 R2 1 Tom Lehman -5 F -15 62 67 2 Peter Lonard -7 17 -12 67 - 3 Tiger Woods -8 17 -11 69 - T4 Kevin Sutherland -6 F -10 68 66 T4 Dudley Hart -3 F -10 65 69 T6 Luke Donald -5 F -9 68 67 T6 Dean Wilson E 12 -9 63 - T8 Arron Oberholser E F -8 64 72 T8 Ernie Els -1 F -8 65 71 T8 Scott Hend -8 F -8 72 64 T8 Aaron Baddeley -2 F -8 66 70 T8 Tom Gillis -4 15 -8 68 - T8 Pat Perez -2 14 -8 66 -
David Duval, +10, and Mark Calcavecchia, +6, withdrew without completing the second round. I wonder if they’ll respect themselves in the morning.