1997 GTE Byron Nelson Tournament -
Second Round
The conditions were ideal for low scores at the second round of the GTE Byron Nelson and one golfer took advantage by shooting a 29 on his front nine at the Cottonwood Valley Golf Course - and didn't even know it. His name ... Tiger Woods.
"I went out in 29?" said Woods following his round. "I had no idea." Woods finished with a 64 and is tied for the lead with Lee Rinker at 12 under, a new GTE Byron Nelson record score after two rounds.
Rinker used a strong short game (no bogeys in 36 holes) and seven birdies to move into the tie. He chipped up close twice to birdie the two par fives on the back nine (11 & 16). He sank a forty-foot birdie putt on the eighth hole and chipped in from fifty feet on the tenth hole.
Mike Standly used a 29 on the back nine of the Tournament Players Course and is one stroke out of the lead. Standly credited a strong accurate iron game as six of his eight birdies were from eight feet or less. "I had a lot of yardages that were good solid iron shots," said Standly. "It was fun being the first group of the day."
First round leader Jim Furyk shot a 67 at the TPC and is tied for fourth with Paul Stankowski, who fired a 66, also at the TPC. "I was happy overall but I definitely left a few out there," said Furyk. "I've put myself in position to win the tournament so I'm obviously real happy."
Furyk birdied three of the first five holes before paring the next eight in a row. "I didn't hit it any better yesterday or do anything. Just the ball went in the hole a little bit more often for me," said Furyk.
Tom Watson sank a downhill putt of 15 feet on the closing hole to finish with a group at 9-under. Joining Watson were Shell Houston Open winner Phil Blackmar, David Berganio, Dan Forsman, John Morse and Andrew Magee.
Doug Martin, who made a hole-in-one on the 196-yard par 3 seventeenth hole at the TPC with a five iron, is tied with six other players at 8-under.
Moments after Martin's effort, Shane Bertsch holed a five iron at the 197 yard par 3 seventeenth hole at Cottonwood.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson and Ben Crenshaw lead a group of seven players at 7-under, five shots behind the leaders. Nick Price and Nick Faldo are six shots off the pace.
Before another enthusiastic record gallery Tiger Woods started off strong. He spun a nine iron off of the hill on the par three second hole to within four feet and made birdie. He then hit an eight iron to within 12 feet on the third hole and 22 feet on the fourth hole and made both putts. Woods concluded his birdie run by making an eight-foot putt on the par four fifth hole.
"You know, I felt pretty good with the putter. My putting is what's carried me through this, my short game," said Woods.
Woods later birdied the eighth and tenth holes to move to twelve under. On the par 5 eleventh hole, Tiger again birdied after getting up and down from forty yards in front of the green.
He then began to struggle with his tee shots, but was able to make five pars in a row. "Coming into this tournament I felt pretty good about my swing. And my swing's kind of on the iffy side. You know, it's good and bad," said Woods.
His only bogey came on the par three seventeenth hole after hitting a six iron into the front bunker, and missing the eight-foot par putt.
Woods did not use his driver as much on the Cottonwood course. "A lot of the holes have bunkers out there on the doglegs, and the doglegs aren't severe enough for me to take it over and have an advantage. I would have to kind of slide one around the corner and those are tough to do," said Woods.
The final pairing for the third round is an interesting contrast in professional golf careers - the amazingly successful Tiger Woods and Lee Rinker.
Rinker, who earned his tour card in 1984, struggled for a few years playing mini-tours after losing his card before deciding to become an assistant pro at Muirfield Village in 1988. Rinker believed he was spinning his wheels after he kept just missing out on earning back his tour card.
However, in 1993 Rinker qualified for the U.S. Open and finished 30th. Later in the same year, he played a round with Jack Nicklaus. Nicklaus was impressed with Rinker's ability and asked him why wasn't he playing on the tour.
Rinker soon decided to return to playing professionally and joined the Nike Tour. He believes his best playing days are ahead of him. "I am 36 years old, but am more like a 26 year old mentally."
He looks forward to playing with Woods. "I am sure I will be nervous. With the adrenaline pumping I may hit it within 50 yards of Tiger," said Rinker. "What the heck, that is what you are here for. How many other people would like to play with Tiger?"
Tomorrow, he gets that chance.
Don Dowell is the Editor/Publisher of Golf in the SouthWest
(May 17, 1997)©