Woods Left With One-Shot Lead After Janzen Shot Lands in Trap

L.A. Times Archives

June 5, 1999 12 AM PT

From Associated Press

Lee Janzen looked at where his ball sat under the lip of a trap at the 18th green. “I basically had nothing,” he said.

As a result, Tiger Woods had something--a one-shot lead through Friday’s second round of the Memorial Tournament at Dublin, Ohio.

A birdie at the par-five 15th put Janzen, who had started the day with a two-stroke lead, ahead of Woods by a shot heading into the final hole.

But swirling wind rerouted Janzen’s six-iron approach from the middle of the fairway.

“I thought it was going to land on the green, but it hit the slope of the bunker, the grass and then kicked left and went all the way to the other side of the lip,” he said.

After trying several stances just to make contact with the ball, Janzen took a swing and was only able to advance the ball six feet. It stayed in the trap.

From there he blasted out--barely clearing the edge of the trap--and two-putted from 15 feet. The double-bogey six capped a two-under 70 that left him at nine-under 135.

Woods, who shot a 66 to finish at 10-under 134, nearly holed a two-iron on the 11th hole and settled for an eagle.

Just moments before, Janzen had rolled a lofted fairway wood to within six inches on the same hole for an even easier tap-in eagle.

Woods, playing in the group immediately behind Janzen, started the day three shots back but strung together five consecutive birdies on the front side. After the eagle, he parred out.

Janzen believes that he sees a different, more mature Woods these days.

“His first year on tour, he had a parade with him everywhere he went,” Janzen said. “He couldn’t even spend five minutes in the locker room without getting hounded by somebody. . . .

“He has a relaxed confidence about him. He’s just really enjoying himself right now, which could be trouble for the rest of us.”

Joining Janzen a shot back was reigning PGA champion Vijay Singh. He had five birdies and five pars on the first 10 holes to edge into the lead, but fell back on the same hole where Woods and Janzen came close to double-eagles.

Singh’s third shot came up short at the 11th, hitting the bank in front of the green and spinning back into the creek. He took a drop, chipped on and two-putted for a double-bogey.

“I thought my seven-iron was going to fly. It was 165 yards to the front and it came out really soft,” Singh said. “It was a bad, bad double.”

He later balanced that with an eagle at the 15th, hitting a five-iron to six feet, and ended with a 67.

Sergio Garcia, the 19-year-old Spaniard making his second professional start in the United States, shot a 70 despite a double-bogey on the par-three 16th. That prevented him from possibly being paired with Woods.

He was joined at seven under by Justin Leonard, who had a 69.

Jim Furyk, Mark Calcavecchia, Bill Glasson and Frank Lickliter--who shot the day’s low round with a 65--were at six under.

Looking for his first victory in more than 14 months, Lee Trevino birdied six of the last nine holes for a 67 and joined a six-way tie for the lead in the Cadillac NFL Golf Classic at Clifton, N.J.

Allen Doyle, a two-time winner this year, overcame back problems for a five-under round matched by Bob Charles, Joe Inman, DeWitt Weaver Jr. and Tom McGinnis in the $1.1-million event.

Jim Holtgrieve, given a sponsor’s exemption to the event, was at 69 and a large group at 70 included defending champion Bob Dickson, Jay Sigel and Hubert Green.

Trevino, whose best finish in 10 events this year is a seventh, had two very different nines on the 6,816-yard Upper Montclair Country Club, a tree-lined course built in 1901 that allows players to use a variety of shots to reach the greens. He was one over on the front nine and shot a six-under 30 on the back.

“Don’t ask me how I did it because I haven’t been playing good,” said Trevino, who will turn 60 in December. “This is the best starting round I had all year.”

Sophomore Luke Donald of Northwestern feels like he’s back home on his English links, and so do countrymen Max Harris and Paul Casey.

Rain and swirling wind have turned the unforgiving 7,196-yard, par-72 Hazeltine National Golf Club layout into a monster, taming most of the field in the NCAA men’s championship at Chaska, Minn.

Not so the Britons.

Donald shot a par 72 to hold the lead at three-under 213 heading into the final round of the 72-hole tournament. He is the only golfer under par after three rounds.

Harris, a North Carolina junior, was at one-over 217 and Casey, an Arizona State sophomore, was at 218, both also thriving on the wind-whipped course.

“We’re used to playing in the wind a little more than people over here in America,” Donald said. “Plus, the greens are quite firm now, even after a rain. And Americans are used to hitting high shots and soft.”

Washington’s Troy Kelly was in second place at par 216 after a 70.

In team competition, Oklahoma State is the leader at 18-over 882 on the U.S. Open-style course featuring high rough, hard greens and wind brutal and unpredictable.

The Cowboys, seeking their ninth national title and first since 1995, are five shots ahead of Georgia, 10 ahead of Northwestern and 11 up on Brigham Young and Clemson.

In Front

The leaders through Friday’s play (Complete scores, Page 12):

MEMORIAL--Par 72

Tiger Woods: 68-66--134 -10

Lee Janzen: 65-70--135 -9

Vijay Singh: 68-67--135 -9

Justin Leonard: 68-69--137 -7

Sergio Garcia: 67-70--137 -7

Frank Lickliter: 73-65--138 -6

M. Calcavecchia: 71-67--138 -6

Bill Glasson: 70-68--138 -6

Jim Furyk: 71-67--138 -6