Woods finds his game just in time

Updated: April 9, 2005, 10:56 PM ET

By Jason Sobel | ESPN.com

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AUGUSTA, Ga. -- If you've seen the highlights -- well, maybe the lowlights -- ofTiger Woods this week, you've gotten an eyeful.

Turn on the television and there's Tiger putting his ball into Rae's Creek.

Woods followed his opening-round 74 with a second-round 66.

Click. Here he is putting one up a slope ... and watching it trickle all the way off the green.

Click. A 100-yard duck-hook off the tee.

Click. Trying to punch through some tree branches. Click. Off of pine straw. Click. From outside the ropes.

How can a player so good be so ... bad?

After all, an off day is one thing, but when the world's second-ranked golfer, a man with eight major titles to his credit, is being mocked on SportsCenter's "Not Top Plays" for his futility on a golf course, things have surely hit a low point.

"I putted the ball in the water. ... Roll it on the ground about 100 yards with a driver," Woods said of his two-day opening round in the Masters Tournament that resulted in a 2-over 74. "That's not very good.

"But you know, I kept telling myself, I kept hitting good golf shots and I would just mess it up, or I'd get a bad break. So just keep hanging in there, keep hitting quality golf shots and it will turn. And luckily, it turned."

It is a paean to his perseverance, a testament to his talent, that Tiger is not only in contention, but could very well be the favorite heading into Sunday's final 27 holes.

Don't say you missed it. Don't tell us you click, click, clicked away until all visions of Woods at his worst were out of sight, out of mind.

If so, you don't know him very well.

Woods stepped out of bed Saturday morning with 53 holes still to play. For Tiger, 53 holes is an eternity.

Need proof? He entered the day two strokes over par, but in one 11-hour span he played 26 holes, made 12 birdies and crept up the leaderboard with all the subtlety of, well, a tiger on the prowl, until he was in second place entering Sunday.

"All of a sudden, the momentum started to kind of build, I started making putts," Woods said. "My golf shots were just as good, but it just happened."

"It" is what separates Tiger Woods from the rest of the field. It's what tells him, after that 74, that he's still in the game. It's what propels him to a second-round 66. And then whispers in his ear, "Come on, you can do better than that."

And so he does. He comes out for his third round and birdies the second hole. And the third. And the seventh, eighth and ninth.

Woods is now right where he wants to be, in position to win his fourth green jacket, a mere four strokes behind leader Chris DiMarco with 27 holes left to play.

Those unseemly putts and crooked drives were an unfortunate beginning to the tournament, but they were just that -- the beginning.

The ending to this show will unfold on the greatest stage in golf

Just don't click away. You might miss something special.

Jason Sobel is ESPN.com's golf editor. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com

DiMarco hopes he's learned from the past

Updated: April 9, 2005, 11:32 PM ET

By Bob Harig | Special to ESPN.com

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AUGUSTA, Ga. -- There was a time just a few years ago that Chris DiMarco's putting was so bad, he considered giving up the game.

It wasn't until he discovered the "claw" grip that he could finally be at peace on the greens.

AP Photo/David J. PhillipWill the "claw" grip be DiMarco's secret to clinching his first major championship on Sunday?

Now, with 27 of the world's most treacherous putting surfaces to traverse on Sunday, that stroke will be put to the ultimate test under the pressure of trying to win a major championship.

DiMarco, 36, is four strokes ahead of Tiger Woodswith 27 holes to play at The Masters. Such a lead can be gone in a heartbeat, but DiMarco has been steady through 45 holes of stopping and starting at the weather-plagued event and hasn't made a bogey since the first hole of the tournament.

Although he has the game's most marquee player chasing him, this will be more about what DiMarco does than anyone else. As Greg Norman learned nine years ago, if you simply take care of business, nobody can catch you. But one little slip, and a player such as Woods will pounce.

"Going out and trying to hold onto a lead isn't going to do it," DiMarco said. "Go out and step on it. That's what Ernie [Els] did last year, and that's why he almost won and that's why Phil [Mickelson] won on the back nine. That's what you have to do around here.

"If you look in the years past, you watch the guys who won, they won on the back. Somebody came from behind to win the tournament, or if they were ahead, they shot a good number on the back nine."

DiMarco had a front-row seat to history last year, and that should be a boon to him Sunday.

He played with Mickelson in the final pairing and saw how it was done. While DiMarco was shooting 76 to fall out of contention, Mickelson was firing at pins, having fun and making birdies. It turned into one of the most popular Masters of all time, and DiMarco had a first-hand look.

Trouble is, DiMarco doesn't have nearly the résumé of Mickelson. It is surprising to see just three PGA Tour victories by his name, none since 2002. He was the best American player at the Ryder Cup last year, but when he had a chance to win the PGA Championship in August, he missed a 15-foot par putt in regulation that would have brought him the hardware, then fell to Vijay Singh in a playoff.

DiMarco is ranked 15th in the world but is afflicted by the same malady that hurts many U.S. players: He doesn't win enough.

"It's up to me," said DiMarco, who did not make a bogey in 26 holes of golf Saturday. "I have to go out and control myself and stay focused and control my nerves and try to do what I'm doing. I'm going to try to slow myself down on the greens, slow myself down walking in the fairway and make sure I'm ready to hit every shot and try and hit shots really solid."

It won't be easy if Woods works his way into the final pairing -- which is how it would be if he remains in second place.

But DiMarco can take solace in the fact that Woods has never come from behind to win any of his eight major championships.

"I've just got to set myself up," said Woods, who played beautifully Saturday, shooting a 66 in his conclusion to the second round, the best score of the tournament. He then shot 31 on the front nine of the third round, including three straight birdies at the end.

"We've got a long way to go. We've got 27 holes to go. It's a long, patient day, and I've just got to continue being patient, plod your way around. We're obviously going to have some time between rounds, get focused, get something to eat and off you go again."

The good news for DiMarco is he's made it difficult for many others to catch him. Denmark's Thomas Bjorn is five strokes back, while Singh is nine behind and Mickelson must make up 10 strokes.

"I can only say that if Chris keeps playing the way he is he's going to be very difficult to catch, because it's fine golf," said Bjorn, who is paired with DiMarco in the third round.

Will that fine golf last for 27 more holes?

Bob Harig covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times and is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at harig@sptimes.com.

Tiger four shots back; Bjorn fills out 3-horse race

Updated: April 9, 2005, 11:11 PM ET

Associated Press

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AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Chris DiMarco thought he had the best seat at Augusta National last year when he played in the final group and watched Phil Mickelson win The Masters. The view was even better Saturday.

DiMarco played 26 holes without a bogey, building a four-shot lead after the rain-delayed second round, then pressing ahead with more solid play to keep his distance from hard-charging Tiger Woods.

Coverage from The Masters

• The rains have passed and conditions Sunday should be nearly pristine. The National Weather Service forecast calls for mostly sunny with highs in the mid 70s and northeast winds of 5 to 10 mph. • Leaderboard | Recap | Full coverage ESPN.com at Augusta National • Harig: Pressure's on for DiMarco • Maisel: DiMarco in the driver's seat • Sobel: Tiger roars back to life • Wojciechowski: Jack's fond farewell • Alternate Shot: Will DiMarco win? More from Augusta National • Golf Digest: Day 3's winners and losers • Golf World: The rainy season • Golf Digest: Day 3 photo gallery ESPN Motion • Woods chases DiMarco  • Highlights from soggy Day 2  • A bizarre Day 1 for players  SportsNation • Give us your take on the Big Four

Despite all the rain and muck, and confusion when the third round was delayed 20 minutes by a computer glitch, The Masters finally came to life.

DiMarco blocked out the raucous cheers for Woods, matching as many birdies as he could to reach 13 under par when his long day ended after nine holes.

Woods brought the gallery to its feet with an assortment of shots that stopped close to the hole. He shot 31 on the front nine and was at 9 under par. And after a first round filled with bad breaks, Woods got one in his favor at the end of the day. His ball was caked with mud when the siren sounded, so he marked his position in the 10th fairway, allowing him to start Sunday with a clean ball.

Thomas Bjorn was at 8 under par, and no one else was close.

Vijay Singh and a pair of Australians, Rod Pampling and Mark Hensby, were at 4 under par. Mickelson was another shot behind -- but 10 shots behind DiMarco, who still has control of this major championship.

The Masters usually doesn't begin until the back nine Sunday afternoon. This time, it will start Sunday morning. The third round was to resume at 8 a.m. ET.

"I kind of wish we could play some more, but that's OK," DiMarco said.

Right when Woods started to make his move, DiMarco answered with a slick 10-footer for birdie on the seventh, and another 10-foot birdie on the eighth. He played smartly, taking chances only when they were there.

"If Chris keeps playing the way he is, he's going to be very difficult to catch," Bjorn said. "It's fine golf."

Bjorn, however, is a friend of Woods and has seen some of his best golf. The Dane saw plenty of it on the front nine Saturday afternoon playing in the group behind him, and he was duly impressed.

"Tiger is Tiger," Bjorn said. "When he gets on these kind of runs, you never know what's going to happen."

DiMarco must feel like it's his time.

He keeps putting himself in contention at The Masters -- the second round was his fifth time atop the leaderboard in the last four years. He lost in a playoff in the last major he played, the PGA Championship in August.

Woods had some good omens, too, one involving the man whose major championship record he chases.

He won the last PGA Championship and U.S. Open that Jack Nicklaus played, both in 2000. He also won the British Open, which, at the time, Nicklaus said was his last.

The Golden Bear said farewell to The Masters on Saturday.

The six-time winner of the green jacket walked up the ninth fairway with cheers from the crowd and tears welling up in his eyes. After shooting 76-77 to miss the cut, he said he would no longer play.

Nicklaus has always been about competition, not ceremony.

"I'm not a golfer anymore," Nicklaus said. "They're young. I'm an old man trying to figure out some way to get out of the way."

He cleared the way for what should be a dynamic conclusion.

Woods, who has gone 10 majors without winning, looked like an eight-time major winner as he started chipping away at a six-shot deficit. DiMarco refused to blink, hitting fairways and greens, gritting his teeth with every putt he made.

"I kept telling myself I was hitting good shots, but nothing happened," Woods said. "Just hang in there, and keep hitting quality shots and it will turn. Luckily, it turned."

DiMarco only has three PGA Tour victories, none particularly memorable. But he has raised his game at the majors, particularly at Augusta National. When his birdie putt on the 18th stayed just short of the hole, DiMarco had a 67 and the 36-hole lead at The Masters for the second time in four years.

He had a two-shot lead in 2001 and crumbled playing with Woods.

DiMarco gave himself a bigger cushion Saturday, and only two closing birdies by Bjorn kept him from setting a Masters record for the largest halfway lead -- five shots by three players, all of whom went on to win.

"I have to go out and ... stay focused and control my nerves," DiMarco said before his third round. "We've only played 36. We have a lot of golf left."

DiMarco kept a comfortable cushion for most of the second round, then poured it on. He was just over the green on the par-5 15th in two and eased the slick putt down to 3 feet for birdie. Then came a 7-iron below the hole to 12 feet, kicking back his left leg as that dropped for birdie.

The ovations got louder as he walked off every tee, his lead stretching with every birdie.

Bjorn got himself into contention at a major for the first time since his bunker gaffes cost him the British Open two years ago at Royal St. Georges. He became the ninth player to eagle both par 5s on the back nine, and his two birdies at the end gave him a 67.

Woods didn't figure to work his way into the mix, not after opening with a 74 and cursing the first shot he hit from the fairway. But he birdied the first two holes he played Saturday morning, and kept his round going with a par on No. 6 by chipping off the top tier of the green to avoid the severe slope.

A birdie on the ninth put him under par for the first time. Two-putt birdies on both par 5s on the back nine carried him to a 66, the first time in two years at a major he had the low score in a round.

The cut was at 4-over 148, and led to an early departure for Sergio Garcia,Padraig Harrington and David Toms. It almost got Ernie Els, too.

The Big Easy is the only player from the Big Four missing from the leaderboard, and he had to make a bending 10-footer for par on the 18th hole to make the cut on the number.

"This is disappointing," Els said, a major understatement.

Worse yet, a computer problem with 36-hole scores kept Masters officials from posting tee times. In what looked like a Saturday at the local municipal course, officials told players on the putting green when it was their turn to play until tee times could be printed.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press