U.S. Open 2019: Tiger Woods enters Friday's Round 2 trying to 'hang in there'

Bob Hille

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U.S. Open 2019: Tiger Woods enters Friday's Round 2 trying to 'hang in there' image

Tiger Woods, who clawed his way to a 1-under 70 in Round 1 Thursday at the U.S. Open, is back on the course Friday at Pebble Beach with an eye toward putting things together for a run at a 16th major tournament victory.

The key Friday, as always at Pebble Beach, is to strike early on the front side.

"The first seven holes you can get it going," Woods said Thursday, "and you can be 4 to 5 under through the first seven holes."

But Woods, playing alongside overnight leader Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth, teed off at 8:24 a.m. local time Friday on No. 10 and squandered an early opportunity when he let a birdie putt inside 10 feet slide to the low side of the hole.

Still, despite not playing his best Thursday, Woods managed Thursday to stay within five shots of Rose.

“It’s just fighting it out and grinding it out,” Woods said of staying in the mix. “You just kind of hang in there.”

Two-time defending U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who went out some 20 minutes ahead of Woods' group, was doing exactly that: He opened with a pair of pars to stay at 2 under, four shots off the early Round 2 lead.

Woods entered Friday's play tied for 28th, with a mix of the world's top players, including Rose, Rickie Fowler (5 under), Rory McIlroy (3 under) and Koepka (2 under), ahead of him.

The vast majority of the 27 players ahead of Woods after Round 1 will tee off after him in Round 2.

Among the less-heralded players who were already on the course, American Aaron Wise offset an early bogey at No. 2 with back-to-back birdies at the fifth and sixth holes to move to 6 under, tied with Rose momentarily, before a double bogey at the par-3 seventh dropped him back to 4 under. Meanwhile, American Chesson Hadley, starting on the back nine, birdied No. 10 and No. 12 to get to 5 under.

According to Friday's forecast, breezes again were expected to be relatively tame, taking away one of Pebble Beach's main defenses and making it a second consecutive day ripe for scoring. Thirty-nine players were under par after the opening round, the second-most in U.S. Open history, after the 44 who broke par at Erin Hills in 2017.

 

Bob Hille

Bob Hille Photo

Bob Hille, a senior content consultant for The Sporting News, has been part of the TSN team for most of the past 30 years, including as managing editor and executive editor. He is a native of Texas (forever), adopted son of Colorado, where he graduated from Colorado State, and longtime fan of “Bull Durham” (h/t Annie Savoy for The Sporting News mention).