NORTON, Mass. — Tiger Woods couldn’t make enough putts to catch up with the players who couldn’t miss.
Sean O’Hair and Jim Furyk set the pace Saturday at the Deutsche Bank Championship and brought Retief Goosen along for the ride.
That threesome combined to make 17 birdies and one eagle, finishing two rounds at a combined 34-under par.
All that counted was the individual scoring, which wasn’t bad, either.
O’Hair ran off six birdies and an eagle during an eight-hole stretch in the middle of his round for a 7-under 64, giving him a share of the lead with Furyk, who had six birdies to offset a few mistakes for a 67.
They were at 12-under 130.
“We saw a lot of good golf and a lot of good golf shots,” Furyk said. “And obviously, I saw some putts go in.”
Woods arrived later in the day, and instead of making a charge, he flirted with missing the cut. He was on the verge of going below the cut line when he faced a 12-foot par on No. 9, a tricky 5-foot putt on the 10th and a 20-foot par putt on the 11th after gouging a shot out of a plugged lie in the bunker. He made them all, then ran off four birdies over his final seven holes for a 67.
That left the No. 1 player still stewing over three birdies he missed inside 10 feet on the back nine, realizing he needed to make up as much ground as the could. Woods was seven shots behind.
“They haven’t been lipping in, they’ve been lipping out,” Woods said. “That’s about par for the course right now. Today is one of those days where I could have gone really low.”
That was left to just about everyone else.
Nearly half of the 99-man field shot in the 60s, with Marc Leishman improving his hopes of advancing in the FedEx Cup playoffs with a tournament-low 62 that left him two shots out of the lead, along with Goosen.
Scott Verplank made an eagle for the second straight day on his way to a 68, leaving him in a group of players at 9-under 133 that included Justin Leonard, Mike Weir, Kevin Sutherland and John Senden, who recorded the rarest shot in golf. Senden made a double eagle on the par-5 second hole, holing out from 250 yards with a 4-iron. He shot a 64.
Pettersen opens up big lead
PRIDDIS, Alberta — Suzann Pettersen moved into position to end her 43-tournament winless streak, shooting a 5-under 66 in windy conditions to take a five-stroke lead into the final round of the Canadian Women’s Open.
The Norwegian had a 14-under 199 total after opening with rounds of 65 and 68. She won all five of her LPGA Tour titles in 2007, and has six runner-up finishes since, including a playoff loss last week in Oregon.
Roberts remains on a roll
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Loren Roberts closed on his second straight Champions Tour title, shooting a 6-under 66 at Pebble Beach to take a two-stroke lead over Mark O’Meara in the Walmart First Tee Open.
Roberts had seven birdies and a bogey to finish at 12-under 132. O’Meara, playing at Del Monte, shot his second straight 67.
Tom Lehman, equaled the tournament’s low round with a 65 at Del Monte to move into third place at 8-under.
Noren leading European event
CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland — Alexander Noren of Sweden shot an 8-under 63 to take a two-stroke lead after three rounds of the European Masters.
Noren was at 15-under 198 in his bid for his first European tour victory. Charl Schwartzel of South Africa was at 200 after a 65.
The Associated Press
