All not lost for Woosnam
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ANDY FARRELL
reports from Sun City
On the scoreboard, the initials LC beside a player's name denoted the fact that he was playing at the Lost City course. For many in the Dimension Data Pro-am, both in the paid and unpaid ranks, the initials could have stood for "lost cause".
That included Ian Woosnam, for having gone double-bogey, bogey at the 17th and 18th holes (his 8th and 9th) he was four over par and likely to miss the cut.
On Thursday, the tournament had already lost its other competitor chasing a hat-trick of wins when Wayne Westner was disqualified for practising on the course. Having missed the green on the 17th, the diminutive Welshman found himself "looking up a mountain". He took two chips to get on the green and missed the putt from five feet. At the 18th, he sliced his approach into the water. However, three birdies on the front nine helped him back to two over and inside the three-over cut.
"It was a day for keeping your head on," Woosnam said. "I didn't enjoy that course at all. There are too many Mickey Mouse holes," he added.
There are worse places to miss the cut than South Africa's answer to a cross between Las Vegas and Disneyland, as David Feherty observed while stretched out by the pool. The returning Irishman improved on a first round of 79 by seven shots, but his 151 was four shots too many.
Woosnam is now looking forward to two rounds on the Gary Player course, where he won the Million Dollar in 1988. When Nick Price won it in '93, he started the final round with a 10-shot lead, then holed his approach at the first for an eagle two. Mark McNulty was not impressed to fall further behind despite a birdie at the hole.
Yesterday, McNulty won the battle of the Zimbabweans. At eight under par, he leads by four from Price and the South African Andre Cruse.
McNulty shot a 67 at the Player course, which is playing its full length at 7,484 yards. In seven Million Dollar appearances, McNulty, far from the longest of hitters, could only remember the back tees being used once. His iron play was good enough that he only needed one putt of over 10 feet in his five birdies.
n Britain's Nick Faldo and Barry Lane both fired three-under-par 69s to be six shots behind the Americans Kirk Triplett, Tom Lehman and Doug Martin after the first round of the Buick Invitational in La Jolla, California.
n Australian Glenn Joyner overcame fierce winds to shoot 70 for a three- stroke lead after two rounds of the Ford Open in Adelaide. Greg Norman is in 13th place, nine shots off the pace.
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