Howell masters windy conditions
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Your support makes all the difference.Charles Howell III knew that par would be an acceptable score at windy East Lake and he went one better, posting a 69 yesterday to take a one-stroke lead in the Tour Championship.
He finished with eight pars and was at five-under 135 heading into the weekend, one stroke ahead of David Toms, Steve Lowery, Len Mattiace and Vijay Singh.
Howell, making his debut in the season-ending tournament for the top 30 on the money list, made bogey after hitting two of his best drives and did not feel as though his score was as good as it could have been. Then again, the swirling wind turned cooler as long shadows fell across East Lake, the greens began to dry out and got quicker on every hole and the 23-year-old knew anything around par would be a good day at the office.
"Birdies are hard to come by," Howell said. "Every time I made a birdie, I tried to hang on as much as I could."
Mattiace was left hanging on for dear life at the end of his round. He was tied for the lead on the par three 18th when he hit a wood into the bunker, followed by a sand iron that looked like it might go nearly as far. Mattiace caught the bunker shot thin and it sailed over the green and momentarily out of sight. The ball clanged off the top of the corporate tents surrounding the 18th and ended up back at the short grass leading up to the green, 15 yards from where he started.
He got up-and-down from 85 feet to save his bogey and wound up with a 68. No telling what would have happened without those corporate tents.
"In a way, I got very lucky," Mattiace said. He was due. This is the man who took an eight on the island-green 17th hole at The Players Championship three years ago in the final round.
Toms had the best score of the day, a bogey-free 66 and earned a spot in the final twosome with Howell today. The former PGA champion has been playing as well as anyone lately, but cannot seem to get a win for all his great scoring – 47-under par in the last two tournaments. "I'm pleased with the way my game is," Toms said. "If I can hang in there when I hit bad shots and recover like I did today, I'll be fine."
Tiger Woods is hanging around, too. Despite consecutive bogeys at the turn, Woods finished with a 68 and was at 139, just four strokes off the lead.
The worst of his round was on the ninth, when he hit a bunker shot over the green, putted about 15 feet past the hole and walked off with one of only six bogeys on that hole Friday. "I wanted to get under par," he said. "To end up under par, I'm right in the ball game."
Singh birdied the 232-yard closing hole for the second straight day to finish at 71 and wind up one stroke off the lead.
"I just tried to be very patient," he said. "I know it's a four-day tournament, and even three or four shots off the lead is not going to be that bad. Luckily, I'm one off."
* Thunderstorms caused the loss of the day's play yesterday in the Italian Open in Rome and the event has been reduced to 54 holes.
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