Woods Rebounds to Make Cut, but Love Keeps Lead

Relax, Tiger Woods made the cut. Now he has to find a way to catch Davis Love III.

Love shot a five-under-par 67 Friday to take a three-stroke lead after the second round of the Western Open at Lemont, Ill. Woods, in danger of missing the cut after finishing the first round tied for 92nd, rebounded with a 68 and was eight strokes back.

Phil Mickelson, who was just one shot off the lead after the first round, ran into trouble Friday and is seven strokes back. He double bogeyed the 18th after putting his second shot in the water and finished with a two-over 74.

Love wasn’t even supposed to be at the Western Open. Trying to rebuild his stamina after missing two months because of a bulging disk, he was worried about overextending himself before the British Open.

But when he missed the cut at the Greater Hartford Open last week, he decided to play in the Western.

He had an eagle on the par-five No. 5 and birdied the par-four No. 8 to make the turn at nine under. He just missed birdie putts on Nos. 10, 11 and 12, but came through with the shot of the day on the par-four 13th.

After his drive landed in a bunker on the right side, Love blasted out--and his shot flew into another trap, this one on the side of the green. His sand shot from about 15 yards hit the green and rolled slowly toward the cup, finally dropping in.

Woods has been in what, for him, almost qualifies as a slump. He took last week off after finishing out of the top 10 in consecutive tournaments for the first time since 1999, and struggled Thursday to finish at one-over 73.

He didn’t seem to be having any fun, either, yelling at himself, throwing clubs and appearing stone faced throughout the round.

“I regret doing it,� Woods said. “Sometimes you get a little hot at yourself when you know you’re not performing the way you know you can.�

A new day brought a new Woods. Not only did he play better--he had birdies on three of his first six holes--he was smiling and laughing.

On the 18th, he raised his putter triumphantly as his 25-foot birdie putt headed for the hole. But it rolled on, missing by an inch. Woods looked crushed for a moment and then smiled as the crowd groaned.

On his final hole, the par-five No. 9, he reached the green in two. His 40-foot eagle putt hit the cup, bounced up and settled at the edge.

He tapped it in for an easy birdie.

Se Ri Pak shot a nine-under 62 to take a two-stroke lead in the second round of the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic at Sylvania, Ohio. She almost matched the course record she set three years ago while winning the first of two consecutive Farr titles.

Pak shot a 61 in the second round of the 1998 Farr--then the lowest score in an LPGA event, since eclipsed by Annika Sorenstam’s 59 this season.

Pak is at 10-under 132 at the tournament midpoint. She opened with a 70, putting her 19th and three shots out of the lead.

Senior PGA Tour rookie Bob Gilder shot a seven-under 65 and holds a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Farmers Charity Classic at Ada, Mich.

Mike Hill, Jim Dent and defending champion Larry Nelson were at 67.

Mikael Lundberg birdied the last four holes for a seven-under 65 and a three-shot lead after two rounds of the European Open at Straffan, Ireland.

Rick Rhoden, seeking a record sixth title, birdied the final five holes for a seven-under 65 and a four-stroke lead in the Celebrity Golf Championship at Stateline, Nev.