Angel Cabrera, who broke Kenny Perry's heart at this tournament two years ago, has birdied 12, 13, and 15 to move up fourth place at 8 under. Meanwhile, the two youngsters -- McIlroy and Day -- have been playing fairly steady golf so far.
1. R. McIlroy (NIR): -10 (45 holes)
T2. K.J. Choi (KOR): -9 (46)
T2. J. Day (AUS): -9 (45)
4. A. Cabrera (ARG): -8 (51)
T5. A. Scott (AUS): -7 (54)
T5. L. Donald (ENG): -7 (50)
T5. C. Schwartzel (RSA): -7 (49)
McIlroy misses a 10-foot putt for par on 10. He is now tied for the lead at 9 under with Choi and Day, and it seems like a long time since McIlroy made a birdie putt.
ReplyDeleteTiger actually had a pretty decent chance for birdie on 11, but he was never going to make that. He will be happy to get past this hole with a par. He will also be happy that despite playing the first 11 holes in 1 over par, he is still only three shots behind the leaders.
ReplyDeleteCabrera pars the 16th to stay one shot off the lead.
ReplyDeleteChoi, who has been on fire with his putter, finally misses a 10-foot putt for par on 11. He falls back to 8 under, leaving McIlroy and Day tied for the lead.
ReplyDeleteTiger does NOT survive the 11th hole. He misses a two-footer for par, and he drops back to 5 under. He falls out of a tie for the lead for Low American.
I think that missed putt on 11 was really devastating for Tiger. He had actually been playing pretty well from tee to green, and if he could have gotten past 11 only three shots behind the leaders, he would have felt really good with 13 and 15 coming up. Now who knows what will happen.
ReplyDeleteThe co-leaders, Day and McIlroy, put their drives on 11 right down the middle.
ReplyDeleteCabrera misses the 17th green with his second shot, and he will have a tricky up and down to save par.
ReplyDeleteTiger's drive on the very dangerous 12th hole rolls to the back edge, and he will have another birdie putt to miss.
ReplyDeleteChoi makes a really beautiful shot on 12 to within 9 feet, and the way he's been putting he will probably knock that in.
Day's approach leaves him with a pretty decent birdie chance on 11. As does McIlroy's.
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ReplyDeleteAlso, I should point out that Smart Girl and I watched the national high school cheerleading championships today. Graves County won the co-ed large varsity competition, while Lexington Dunbar won the large varsity competition for squads with only girls. So Kentucky continues to dominate the world of cheerleading.
Tiger did miss his birdie putt on 12.
ReplyDeleteChoi missed his birdie putt as well.
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy misses his birdie chance on 11.
And THEN Choi misses the par putt coming back. It looked exactly like the putt Tiger missed on 11. Suddenly Choi's putter is killing him. He drops back to 7 under and is now two shots off the lead.
Day now has a chance to take the outright lead, but his birdie putt comes up short. He and McIlroy take pars and move to the very tricky 12th.
ReplyDeleteCabrera saves par on 17 to remain at 8 under. He is the only one of the leaders who is playing well right now, and he could be very dangerous tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteOK, so here's Day at 12, which may be the greatest hole in the world. You will see anything from a 1 to a 6 on this hole, even among the leaders.
ReplyDeleteDay hits a beautiful wedge right to the middle of the green, and he will have a great chance at a two.
McIlroy bogeyed this hole yesterday after putting his drive into the front bunker. This time he over-compensates, and his shot bounces to the back fringe.
Cabrera whacks his drive on 18 down the right side of the fairway.
ReplyDeleteTiger slips on his drive on 13, but the ball bounds out into a very good position, and Tiger literally giggles with glee.
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy makes a very nice chip on 12, and he will have a tap-in for par.
ReplyDeleteCabrera bangs his second shot on 18 to within about 25 feet of the hole, and he will have a decent chance for birdie.
Now Day is putting for the lead on 12. But he runs it just past. He bends over in disgust.
ReplyDeleteBut he and McIlroy have now survived Amen Corner, and I would expect them to hit the juice over the last six holes.
On 13, Choi runs his second shot to the back fringe of he green. He will have a good chance to get up and down for birdie.
ReplyDeleteNow Tiger is hitting his second shot on 13. He hits a very good shot that stops about 10 feet from the hole -- but then catches a downslope and ends up about 35 feet away.
ReplyDeleteCabrera misses his birdie putt, but taps in for a par and a round of 67. He is the leader in the clubhouse at 8 under par.
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy and Day both make very nice tee shots on 13.
ReplyDeleteCharl Schwartzel, a South African who I haven't mentioned at all because I keep expecting him to fade, has gotten to 8 under par and has just hit a very nice shot on 16 to give himself a birdie putt that could allow him to tie for the lead.
ReplyDeleteChoi makes a nice chip on 13 to set up a good birdie chance.
ReplyDeleteTiger, who has not been able to make any putts all day, walks all around the green looking over his long eagle chance on 13. He then hits a putt that is perfectly on line -- but which comes up about 8 inches short. He shrugs his shoulders and then does a one-hand tap-in for a birdie that gets him back to 6 under.
ReplyDeleteChoi knocks in his short birdie putt to go back to 8 under, only one shot off the lead.
ReplyDeleteSchwartzel misses his birdie putt on 16, and he remains at 8 under.
ReplyDeleteNow Day and McIlroy get their shots at 13. Day's second shot bounds over the green, and he will have a very difficult third shot.
ReplyDeleteTiger whacks his drive on 14 straight down the middle.
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy's second shot on 13 lands right in the middle of the green, and he should make birdie.
Choi's drive on 14 also splits the fairway.
Now Day has to make this really tricky chip shot on the 13th green. He has to hit it hard enough to get it through the grass and onto the green, but if he hits it too hard, it will roll down the slope of the green and leave him 30 or 40 feet away from the hole.
ReplyDeleteHe doesn't hit it hard enough, and it stops short of the green. Now he has a pretty tricky up-and-down for par.
McIlroy's eagle putt on 13 dies about a foot short of the hole. He will be happy to tap in for birdie and re-take the lead at 10 under par.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, fifty-two-year-old Freddie Couples birdies 15 and 16 to get to 5 under par, only one shot off the Low American position.
ReplyDeleteDay's birdie putt on 13 rolls well past the hole, and he has a difficult par putt coming back.
ReplyDeleteTiger's approach on 14 rolls to the back of the green, and he will have an almost impossible birdie putt.
ReplyDeleteChoi's approach skitters off the back of the green.
Day cannot save par on 13, and he bogeys a hole that he probably should have birdied. He is now two shots behind McIlroy.
ReplyDeleteSchwartzel makes a great approach to 17, and he has an excellent chance to get to 9 under.
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy's drive on 14 is right down the middle.
ReplyDeleteChoi's chip shot on 14 almost goes in, and he taps in for par.
Day bounces back from his bogey on 13 with a solid drive on 14.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, Tiger has a long birdie putt. Once again, it goes just past. And he will have a tricky putt coming back for par.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Schwartzel misses his short birdie putt on 17.
Tiger makes his par putt coming back, and he heads to 15 at six under par.
ReplyDeleteDay's second shot on 14 ends up in the middle of the green, and he will have a decent birdie chance.
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy's ball ends up about a yard farther from the hole than Day's shot.
Luke Donald finishes with a 69 that leaves him seven under par. He goes off to lead a chorus of "Our God, He Is Alive."
ReplyDeleteTiger's drive on 15 ends up behind some trees, and it will be difficult for him to reach the green in two.
ReplyDeleteChoi's drive on 15 goes right down the middle.