Woods leads early in Australian Open second round
Associated Press
SYDNEY
Tiger Woods walked off golf course to see his name atop the leaderboard Friday in the Australian Open. Even more pleasing to him was the way he got there.
With control of his shots and comfortable over the putter, Woods put together his best back-to-back rounds of the year with a 5-under 67 that gave him a one-shot lead among the early starters in the second round.
If it holds up at the end of the day, it would be his first time in the lead after any round since the third day of the Chevron World Challenge last year, and the first time against a full field since his last win two years ago in the Australian Masters. Woods was tied for the first-round lead at The Barclays last year.
“I really played well,” Woods said. “Even though I shot 5 under, it felt it could have been 8 or 9 deep.”
He was at 9-under 135, one shot clear of a familiar name in these parts, and to Woods. Peter O’Malley is a member at The Lakes and birdied his last two holes for a 66. O’Malley is memorable to some golf fans in the United States as the No. 64 seed who beat Woods in the opening round of the Match Play Championship at La Costa in 2002.
Jason Day, who played alongside Woods, managed to limit the damage from a few wayward shots and had a 68 to finish two behind.
Jarrod Lyle, the 18-hole leader, was among those who played in the afternoon.
Robert Allenby, who has played with Woods many times over the years, saw a game that was starting to look vaguely familiar.
“Probably in the last six months, that’s the best I’ve seen him play,” Allenby said. “I’ve seen him at his absolute best ... that was a different human being. He’s on his way back, that’s for sure.
“I think where he is right now is good enough to win.”