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On the Course
Mother Nature kind to Woods; back nine key
Posted: Saturday April 08, 2000 09:41 PM
By Gary Van Sickle, Sports Illustrated
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Just when you thought Tiger Woods might not win the Masters again, Mother
Nature intervened. After high winds and cold temperatures decimated most of
the leaders Saturday, Woods found himself right back in the thick of
contention.
A passing storm delayed play for about two hours in the middle of Saturday's
third round. Woods had just made four birdies in a row before play was
suspended. He finished off a 68 before a cold front moved through, kicking up
wind gusts of 35 mph and dropping the wind chill factor -- now there's a word
you don't hear often during the Masters -- below 40.
David Duval, who led at 6-under-par after two rounds, hadn't even teed off
for the third round before the delay. About an hour after play resumed, cold
northwest winds kicked in and changed the face of the tournament. It turned
into a survival test and Woods and Davis Love III, who finished at 1-under-par before the weather turned really nasty, moved up the leaderboard as the
afternoon went on. By the time play was finally suspended, they were tied for
sixth place. Vijay Singh, playing a remarkable round, was 2-under-par
through 14 holes and holding the lead. Duval, also through 14, was at 4 under while Loren Roberts, who finished, was at 3-under-par.
Singh and Duval and several other twosomes will return Sunday morning to
finish the third round. Even though Singh has the lead, the focus is likely
to be on Woods. His third-round charge was expected, mainly because he seldom
plays three poor rounds in a row. "I was just trying to get back to even
par," Woods said.
Six shots is a lot of ground to make up but Augusta National has such
dramatic holes on its back nine that almost no lead is safe there, as Greg
Norman proved in 1996. Singh, whose first shot in the Sunday morning chill
will be a 110-yard wedge shot over a pond to the 15th green, has four dicey
holes to deal with first. The 15th is a dangerous third shot that players
don't look forward to, the 16th is a tough putting surface, the 17th has a
tough front pin position and the 18th is a difficult driving hole. There's a
strong possibility that Singh's lead may shrink before he finishes the third
round. Singh played the last four holes in even par the first two rounds.
Singh has his putter working and is hitting his irons shots beautifully. He
missed only two greens Saturday in the challenging winds. Duval also is
playing close to his best. Look for those two and Woods to be close to the
lead when, as usual, it all comes down to back nine on Sunday.
Gary Van Sickle is a Sports Illustrated senior writer. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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