Winners
Jack Nicklaus
Does it really matter that he missed the cut by a couple of
shots? Not to the tens of thousands who jammed the bleachers
and seats around 18 to watch Jack make his final walk, or to
the millions who watched on television. And this time,
Nicklaus even got the ending just right. After missing a
five-footer for birdie on his last hole at Augusta National
in April, he hit an oh-so-appropriate running putt from the
fairway to 14 feet and made the next for birdie. He's the
greatest, by any measure, and by a lot.
Tiger Woods
Thursday's round was marred by a couple of bogeys, at 13 and
16. Today, Woods made the outlook for the rest of the field
a lot more grim, breezing to a 5-birdie, no-bogey 67. Woods
hit 14 fairways and 15 greens in the light breeze, and was
never in remote danger of making a bogey. It's fitting that
Woods is taking control again this week, at the same time
Nicklaus is signing off.
Honorable Mention
Tom Watson
It was an emotional two days for Watson, playing in the
shadow of Nicklaus' final walk through a major championship.
Watson gave the fans even more to see Friday, birdieing 14
and 16 to make the cut on the number at age 55.
Brad Faxon
Faxon risked a wasted trip and came over to Scotland early
to go through sectional qualifying. He got into the field on
the number. Good karma like that gets repaid, and Faxon made
six birdies on his way to a 66. He's tied for third place,
five behind Woods.
Loser (well, sort of ...)
Colin Montgomerie
As easy as it is to dislike Monty because of his seemingly
perpetual scowl and all-too-frequent whining about gallery
noise, you have to respect the record he has compiled, both
on the European Tour and in the Ryder Cup. He really has
been a magnificent player for more than 10 years, and he has
a record that deserves a major championship attached to it.
Normally, he'd be in fine position after his spectacular
second-round 66, which included seven birdies and an eagle
and put him at 7 under. But this year, he's four behind
Woods -- which, at this point might has well be 40 behind. Golf
can be cruel, eh?
Actual losers
Tino Schuster
The unknown German journeyman rolled in a pitch for eagle on
the ninth to get to 8-under and three behind Woods. Then,
oxygen started to get a little scarce. Schuster bogeyed 11,
12, 13 and 14, then made double on the nasty Road Hole. He
finished at 2-under and tied for 39th. Still, playing the
weekend is a bonus when you're ranked 739th in the world.
Mark Hensby
Hensby started the day 5-under, but immediately went off the
rails, making bogey on the first, triple on the second and
triple on the fourth. After 13 pars and a birdie, he
finished up at 77 and even par for the tournament. At least
he'll be able to catch the earlier commuter flight out on
Sunday night.
What to watch for
It's impressive to watch Woods play under such control, but
it doesn't make for good drama. Woods was in a
similar position in 2000, when Sunday was more of a
coronation than a challenge from playing partner David
Duval. Montgomerie and Woods will be paired tomorrow, and
don't think Woods doesn't savor the chance to exact some
Ryder Cup revenge. Monty is going to need another round like
he played today to have any chance to get back in this, and
he'll certainly have his share of rooters in the crowd.
Woods has St. Andrews game planned down to the square foot,
and he hasn't deviated from the script even a word.
Tomorrow, a score like 69 would put the tournament out of
reach. Take Woods out of the equation and you'd have a
fascinating and exciting race at the halfway point. Seven
players, including Vijay Singh, are tied at 6 under, and
another five are tied at 5 under, including Fred Couples and
Sergio Garcia. Luckily, the Royal & Ancient has some lovely
parting gifts.
Matthew Rudy is a senior writer for Golf Digest magazine.