Maybe shaving the goatee had something to do with it.
Five years ago, Tiger Woods blew his chance to win the Dubai Desert Classic in the United Arab Emirates on the 18th hole, hitting a ball into the water. On Saturday, he rallied on the same hole’s sprawling green to grab a share of the lead.
“It’s a pretty funky hole,” said Woods, who played it this time with a ricochet shot, netting him a birdie for a 5-under-par 67 that put his name atop the leaderboard with Danish journeyman Anders Hansen.
Woods is back to his clean-shaven look this week, saying he got tired of the goatee.
“I forgot to bring my clippers, and it was getting really itchy,” he said.
After hooking his drive into a grove of palm trees, Woods overclubbed with a 4-iron and landed his approach over the protecting pond and, on the fly, into the grandstands behind the green.
A fan made the catch and flipped the ball down to Woods, who smiled back.
“I had a backboard to hit it up against, which was nice,” said Woods, who took a drop, chipped to 5 feet and made his birdie putt on the 537-yard hole, which ends on a sweeping double green that also serves the ninth hole.
None of this was accidental, of course.
“Stevie and I checked it out yesterday, just to see where you’re going to miss,” Woods said, referring to caddie Steve Williams.
That was typical of Woods’ scrambling day.
“He’s probably going to say he didn’t have his ‘A’ game, but he still got around in 67 and just showed class,” said Hansen, who shot 69 to match Woods at 16-under 200 overall.
Retief Goosen, who was the co-leader after two rounds with Hansen, carded a 70 to fall one stroke off the pace at 15-under.
Three more players are two shots behind the leaders – defending champion Ernie Els, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Australian left-hander Richard Green.
Woods opened with rounds of 67 and 66. Saturday was mostly survival – a fight with breezy desert wind, temperatures in the low 80s and adjustments to quickening, drying greens at the Emirates Golf Club.
Woods started two behind Hansen and Goosen, then fell three behind those two at the turn. Hansen stayed steady on the back nine, but Goosen bogeyed three holes on the back nine to fall off the pace.
Woods birdied Nos. 10, 13 and 14 with short putts, capping it with his final birdie on No. 18.
PGA Tour: According to family lore, J.B. Holmes was 14 months old when he took his first golf swing, and it hasn’t changed since.
“It’s just been God-given ability so far,” Holmes said.
The tour rookie with booming drives shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-shot lead at the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Ariz., while a raucous record crowd of 168,337 partied around him.
The 23-year-old Kentuckian was at 16-under 197 through 54 holes. Second-round leader J.J. Henry (70) and Ryan Palmer (64) were one back at 15-under.
Justin Leonard shot a 7-under 65 and David Toms had a 66 to reach 13 under, and Colombian Camilo Villegas (66), a hit with the crowd in neon green-yellow pants, was another stroke back along with Dean Wilson (66).
Holmes, a muscular rookie who finished first in the 2005 PGA Tour qualifying tournament, had seven tee shots that traveled at least 338 yards on fairways hardened by a record 108 days without rain.
