The wind absent from Royal Lytham in July whipped across Southern Hills Country Club on Friday and Tom Lehman handled it like a true British Open champion, shooting a 67 to take the midway lead in the Tour Championship.
Lehman, who started the back nine with four consecutive birdies, was 7-under-par 133 after 36 holes, four strokes in front of Vijay Singh and five better than Steve Stricker."If you can get into a rhythm on a windy day, you can still shoot a good score," Lehman said. "But it's just so hard to get that feel for scoring. And if you don't get it, you struggle all day."
Lehman obviously found that rhythm, shooting the lowest round of the day.
It was a different story for Tiger Woods.
The 20-year-old sensation was clearly distracted by the hospitalization of his father overnight and, playing on short sleep, shot an 8-over-par 78, the worst of his 29 rounds since turning pro two months ago.
His father, Earl, was taken to a hospital at 3 a.m. for chest pains likely related to bronchitis and Tiger didn't get back to bed until 5 a.m.
Woods' previous high round was a 2-over-par 73 in the third round of the Greater Milwaukee Open, his first tournament as a professional. Twenty-one of his 28 previous rounds were in the 60s.
He trailed Lehman by 15 strokes.
"I didn't want to be here today," Woods said. "because there are more important things in life than golf, and I love my dad to death and I wouldn't want to see anything happen to him. I just want to go see him."
Lehman, who has an outside shot to beat out Phil Mickelson and Mark Brooks in player-of-the-year voting if he wins here, said that notion has to be pushed aside.
"That's kind of choke time when you think about stuff like that," Lehman said. "So you push that out of your mind."
Volvo Masters
SOTOGRANDE, Spain - England's Paul Curry carded a 2-under-par 69 Friday and took the lead after the second round of the $1.39 million Volvo Masters.
Curry, with a 137 total over the 6,819-yard, par-71 Valderrama course, was one shot ahead of opening-round leader Stephen Ames of Trinidad and Tobago. Ames shot a 71.
Tied for third at 140 were Spain's Carl Suneson (69) and Scotland's Andrew Oldcorn (66).
Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, the European money winning champion for the fourth straight year, fired a 75 and was nine strokes back at 146.
Nichirei International
AMI, Japan - Teams from the U.S. and Japan LPGA tours each won four matches and were tied after the first round of the Nichirei International on Friday.
Australian Karrie Webb, Rookie of the Year and leading money-winner on U.S. LPGA Tour, and teammate Michelle McGann defeated Aki Nakano and Kaori Higo by two strokes with a 7-under 65 on the Ami Golf Club course.
Three other teams from the U.S. tour beat their counterparts in the best-ball stroke play round.
The Japan Tour team's four wins included a four-stroke victory by South Korean Ku Ok-hee and Natsuko Noro over Emilee Klein and Kris Tschetter for the day's best round of 64.
Seniors Kaanapali Classic
KAANAPALI, Hawaii - Hale Irwin, in pursuit of the Senior PGA Tour money title, shot an 8-under-par 63 on Friday for a one-stroke lead over defending champion Bob Charles in the Kaanapali Classic.
Irwin, only $11,001 behind playing partner Jim Colbert, opened the 54-hole tournament with five birdies in six holes on the back nine of the Kaanapali Resort's North Course.
Colbert, who won last week's Gold Rush Classic at El Dorado Hills, Calif., for his fifth 1996 title and fourth straight two-two finish, shot a 6-over 77, ending his string of 14 sub-par rounds.
Charles, a 60-year-old New Zealander who won last year's tournament for the last of his 22 senior titles, was paired with Irwin and Colbert. The left-hander matched Irwin's 31 on the back nine. He dropped two strokes, but double-eagled the 520-yard third hole to move to within a stroke.
Bill Holstead and Japan's Masaru Amano were three back at 66, while Australia's Graham Marsh was at 67 along with Charles Coody, Bud Allin. Bob Murphy, John Jacobs, Don Bies, Bobby Stroble, Jim Ferree and former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman shot 68s.