The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 03, 2006, Page 9, Image 9
Woods leads pack at Doral
Tiger, Mickelson in position to relive last year’s final-round duel
Doug Ferguson
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI — Tiger Woods
and Phil Mickelson
resumed their duel at
opposite ends of Doral
on Thursday, and the
outcome didn’t change.
Woods was still one
shot better.
In a balmy start to the
Florida swing, Woods
again reached the 603
yard 12 th hole in two
shots and ran off a string
of birdies along the back
nine of the Blue Monster
for an 8-under 64 and
a one-shot lead over
Mickelson and four others
in the Ford Championship
at Doral.
i his guy I lger seems
to play well every day,
every week,” Mickelson
said. “I’m just trying to
keep pace. I’m trying to
maybe have another shot
at dueling out with him
on Sunday, and I’m glad
that he’s playing well. I’ve
got to do my part and
stay with him.”
Woods won last year in
a scintillating showdown
between two of golf’s
biggest personalities, with
Woods pulling ahead with
a 30-foot birdie putt at
No. 17 and Mickelson
lipping out a birdie chip
on the last hole.
They teed off at the
same time Thursday but
on opposite nines.
They were together
only on the leaderboard,
although both had some
catching up to do on
a day when 60 players
broke 70 and 116 players
were at par or better.
“The times I looked
at the board, neither one
of us were up there,”
Woods said. “We weren’t
leading. I knew 7 (under)
was leading, so try to get
up there somehow.”
Woods got off to a
hot start on a tropical
afternoon with birdies
on three of his first four
holes, including a tee
shot within a foot on
the 222-yard fourth hole.
Mickelson made three
straight birdies around
the turn, and while his
gallery was about one
fourth the size of those
watching Woods, they
were as passionate as
ever.
1 here were throaty
cheers when Lefty made
a 12-foot birdie putt on
No. 5, and one man
yelled, “Yeah! He’s letting
Tiger know that he’s
coming!”
At that point, Woods
was only about 250
yards away as he walked
down the 14th fairway.
He -hit 9-iron into 10
feet, the start of three
straight birdies that shot
him to the top of the
leaderboard. His 64 was
his best score in the
first round on the PGA
Tour since a 63 in the
2003 Western Open,
which he went on to
win by five.
It was sizzling stuff,
even though it was only
Thursday.
There are still three
days left, and loads of
other players capable of
denying fans an encore.
Camilb Villegas, one of
several promising rookies
who hit the ball a mile,
birdied four straight holes
until settling for a two
putt par from about 8
feet on the 18th. That
put him at 65, along with
former PGA champion
Rich Beem, Ryan Palmer
and Mark Wilson, one of
five players who got into
this elite field with a top
10 finish in Tucson last
week.
At times, it seemed like
a replay from last year.
Woods had 282 yards
to the hole on the
monster 12 th hole, and
he hammered a 3-wood
that floated enough in the
air to clear the bunker
and reach the green. This
time, he had to settle
for a two-putt birdie,
bouncing on his feet as
the ball trickled to a stop
inches from the front of
the cup.
1 hen there was
Mickelson, facing a 30
foot birdie chip after
having to lay up on the
par-5 eighth. The ball
ran hot toward the hole,
spun out of the cup, and
Lefty threw his head back
in disbelief.
The good news for
Mickelson? It’s only
Thursday.
And with a mild
breeze in the afternoon
and soft conditions, no
one could afford to take
their foot off the gas
if they wanted to keep
their positions.
“If you shoot even par,
you’re going to get run
over here,” Woods said.
*
' 1 1 " ' I
Gamecocks
^Connection!
Your source for
Gamecocks news alerts
right on your
wireless pnone!
Get up-to-the-minute news
about the Gamecocks,
from the Gamecocks,
on your wireless phone.
Log on to www.vtext.com
and select "Coaches Corner!"
Subject to Customer Agreement and Calling Plan. $35 activation fee may apply. $175 early termination fee applies. Requires
credit approval. Subject to taxes, charges and other restrictions. See verizonwireless.com/bestnetwork for network claim details.
Digital phone required. Verizon Wireless post pay customers charged 2? per message received and 10? per message sent. Verizon
. Wireless prepay custopners charged 5? for messages received and sent. Network not available in all arjeas. ©2004 Verizon Wireless
TOURRflfllERT • COnilRUCD PROITl 8
champion. It’s hard to see
how teams such as Italy,
the Netherlands, China
and South Africa can
compete.
Gene Orza, the chief
operating officer of
the players’ association,
persuaded Mike Piazza to
play for Italy. He tried to
get Mike Mussina, too.
“I told him I’m not
Italian and nobody in my
family is Italian,” Mussina
said.
The tournament starts
with Group A, which runs
from Friday to Sunday at
the Tokyo Dome. Other
players report to their
national teams Friday, and
the three other groups
start play Tuesday after
a bunch of exhibition
games.
Group B, based in
Phoenix and Scottsdale,
Ariz., includes the
United States, Canada,
Mexico and South Africa.
Group C is in San Juan
and has Puerto Rico,
Cuba, Panama and the
Netherlands. Group D
games are at Kissimmee,
Fla., and involve the
Dominican Republic,
Venezuela, Australia and
Italy.
After each team plays
three games, the top
two teams in each group
advance to second-round
groups in Anaheim,
Calif., and San Juan. The
semifinals on March 18
and the final on March
20 are in San Diego.
Some players have
backed out. Mets closer
Billy Wagner and Cleveland
pitcher C.C. Sabathia
dropped off the U.S.
team Wednesday and were
replaced by Washington
right-hander Gary Majewski
and Yankees left-hander A1
Leiter.
Boston’s Manny Ramirez, .
who just got to spring
training Wednesday, quit
the Dominican team as
did Angels star Vladimir
Guerrero, who cited the
death of his three cousins
last weekend in a car
.. accident.
“If a player is on the
fence, whether he’s going
to make a team or not,
I would prefer he stays,”
said Los Angeles Dodgers
manager Grady Little, who
is losing outfielder Jose
Cruz Jr. to the Puerto
Rican team.
“It’s different if you’re
Derek Jeter or someone
of that caliber.”
Yankees center field
Johnny Damon, a member
of the U.S. team, predicted
play would be close to
postseason intensity.
“The last thing we
want to do is embarrass
our country,” he said.
Ortiz, citing the pitch
limits that will be used,
predicts a lower level of
play.
“I see *it like pretty
much spring training
games,” he said. “I don’t
think any one of the
players is ready to play
a full game yet, so it’s
going to be' interesting.”
Baltimore is among the
teams losing many players
to the tournament — 11,
including four-fifths of
its starting rotation —
Rodrigo Lopez (Mexico),
Erik Bedard (Canada),
Bruce Chen (Panama)
and Daniel Cabrera
(Dominican Republic). -
raul Archey, senior
vice president of
Major League Baseball
International, projects the
tournament will sell at
least 800,000 tickets and
said only standing room
remains for the semifinals
and final. Sales also have
gone briskly in Puerto
Rico and in Tokyo for
the games involving
Japan. It appears second
round games in Anaheim
have moved the slowest.
“I feel confident the
event will make money
and there will be profits
to. distribute,” he said.
BdSCBRLL • COnTinUCD PRQfll 8
junior lefthander Forrest
Beverly. “He’s gonna stifle
a lot of people if he’s 100
percent.”
USC leads Clemson
in batting average thus
far. The Gamecocks are
batting .291 to Clemson’s
.277. Lately, USC’s hot
bats have been senior third
basemen Neil Giesler,
batting .462 on the season,
and freshman first basemen
Justin Smoak, who had five
RBI last Sunday against
Duquesne.
vve were picKing rne
ball up, we were pitching
it pretty well, but we
weren’t hitting it on a
consistent basis,” Tanner
said. “And the last couple
of weekends have been a
little bit better, especially
last weekend against
Duquesne. You feel better
about that balance.”
Smoak, freshman
shortstop Reese Havens
and junior college transfer
Cheyne Hurst are batting
over .325 collectively, a
sign of quick maturation in
the starting lineup. USC
will greatly benefit if this
group can perform well
in its first Clemson series
and neutralize Berken.
“The most important
thing for me this weekend
is to see how grounded
our guys are,” Tanner
said.
Despite all the numbers
though, the weekend’s
outcome will probably
be determined by the
intensity of its rivalry. As
is the case in many sports,
Clemson also recruited
most of USC’s younger
players.
On whether he visited
the Tigers, Smoak said, “I
did once. But I’m here
now, and that’s all that
matters.”
iresnman Mike i^isco
elaborated about how the
process' took place for
him.
“Clemson and South
Carolina were my two,”
said Cisco, who has been
to Carolina-Clemson games
in the past.
“I took visits to Carolina
and Clemson. And it
turned out I liked the staff
and the program better
here,” Cisco said.
The rivalry began in
1899 and has -resulted in
271 total contests. Clemson
leads the series 159-110
2. USC’s veterans have
explained the importance
of the rivalry to their
younger teammates.
“We’ve got a bunch of
older guys that tell us and
let us know how things
are going to be,” Smoak
said.
This week, people outside
of baseball have reminded
players of the rivalry’s
importance. They’ve
been called for tickets by
rarely seen acquaintances
and have heard rumors of
the sold-out atmosphere;
Freshmen like Havens,
Smoak and Cisco are
all South Carolinians,
however, and understand
the series’’ significance for
the most part.
v^isco saia: 1 was
sitting right above the
third base dugout thinking
‘Wow, it must be amazing
to play in front of this
many fans.’ I couldn’t
even hear myself talk in
the stands.”
Tanner elaborated on
the competition’s intensity:
“I think we have the best
rivalry in college baseball.
You talk about the Florida
Florida State’s, and all the
other big ones around the
country, and I think this
one’s the best.”
The series will begin
at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at
Sarge Frye Field and will
conclude at Clemson’s
Doug Kingsmore Stadium
on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@givm. sc. edu
GRCCI1 • C0nTinUCDPR0fll8
roughly six-and-a-half
hours north of Tampa. As
you enter the Peach State,
the Field Mob/Ludacris
song “Georgia” should
be playing on the stereo.
The Atlanta Hawks and
Golden State Warriors, of
the NBA, battle Tuesday
in what may be a game
where neither team has
a single player that an
average fan can identify.
vviicii uic game ovci
you head to Buckhead
for a bit of relaxation.
Wednesday, also in
Atlanta, the Thrashers
take on the New York
Islanders. NHL games
are a fun experience,
far better than trying to
watch them on TV. The
rule changes put into
effect after the league was
on strike make the pace
of play more exciting.
After the hockey game
Wednesday, you get a
strange feeling. So far,
you have had a lot of
fun, covered a lot of
miles and seen some great
events, but something
seems missing. “Vegas
baby, Vegas.”
That old quote from
the movie “Swingers”
keeps rolling through
your mind. You decide
to make this little trip
a cross-country one, and
head out West.
Alter 28 hours or
driving, you reach Las
Vegas. Friday night, the
Las Vegas Gladiators
take on the Grand Rapid
Rampage in an Arena
Football League matchup.
You just can’t accept the
fact that football ends with
the Super Bowl, and this
is your fix.
Saturday is to relax and
recover from all the driving.
Sitting poolside at a casino
hotel, sipping on daiquiris,
in between a few sessions
at the blackjack table, you
get a great idea — Bon
Jovi. Saturday night, Bon
Jovi will perform at the
MGM Grand, and this is
a concert that must not be
missed.
NASCAR is in Vegas on
Sunday for the running of
the UAW-DaimlerChrysler
400. This is a fitting way
to end the week, watching
cars race each other for
hundreds of miles, because
you have been racing all
over the country as well.
It is also the moment you
realize that spring break
is going to have to be
extended for a few more
days because getting all
the way back to Columbia
will take quite some time.
Might as well skip Monday
and Tuesday, but it’s worth
it.
AME COCK Nobody covers USC better. Nobody.
* » \