Tiger leads Australian Masters
Tiger Woods shot a 4-under-par 68 to take a three-stroke lead after two rounds of the Australian Masters in Melbourne.
Tiger Woods
shot a 4-under-par 68 to take a three-stroke lead after two rounds of the Australian Masters in Melbourne.
Woods said he has enjoyed playing at Kingston Heath, which, at 7,059 yards, is the shortest course he has played all year. He has won at Torrey Pines and Firestone more than any other courses in the world, and both are considered beasts.
"I think it's great," said Woods, who is at 10-under after two rounds. "I've certainly always enjoyed playing golf courses where you have to think and plod your way along. As I said earlier, you don't need a golf course of 7,500 yards for it to be difficult."
He has hit driver five times each round at Kingston Heath, only when necessary - either into the wind on a long par-4, or a par-5 where bunkers can't be reached, or on the ninth when he can take the fairway bunkers out of play.
Jason Dufner is three shots behind along with Greg Chalmers and James Nitties.
In other golf news:
* Justin Leonard shot an 8-under 64 in the second round of the Children's Miracle Network Classic in Lake Buena Vista Fla., to surge to the top of the leaderboard in the final PGA Tour event of the season. Former world No. 1 David Duval missed the cut and likely will lose his PGA Tour card next year.
* South Korean star Jiyai Shin shot a 6-under 66 for a three-stroke lead in the LPGA's Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico. Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer were tied for second.
* Doug Barron, the first player to be suspended by the PGA for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, asked a federal court in Memphis, Tenn., to lift his suspension.
Boxing
* Manny Pacquiao weighed in at 144 pounds for his much-anticipated fight against Miguel Cotto tonight in Las Vegas. Cotto weighed in at 145 for the fight, which is contracted at 145 pounds.
Auto Racing
* Martin Truex Jr. won the pole for tomorrow's Sprint Cup Race at Phoenix International Raceway with a lap of 135.120 mph.
Philly File
* The Kixx signed Brazilian striker Adauto Neto, formerly of New Jersey in the Xtreme Soccer League. Also, the Kixx will play an exhibition against Pogon Szczecin, a First Division Polish team, at 7 p.m. Thursday at Tri State Sports Complex in Aston.
Sport Stops
* American ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto led after the compulsory round at the Skate America event in Lake Placid, N.Y. Later yesterday were the pairs and men's short programs.
* Rafael Nadal set up a semifinal matchup against Novak Djokovic at the Paris Masters with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Also reaching the semifinals were Gael Monfils and Radek Stepanek.
* The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed a bid by female ski jumpers to force Vancouver Olympic organizers to let them compete. An appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada is likely. *