Woods’ Streak Has Wet Finish

By the time he put two balls in the water on the 15th hole, Tiger Woods knew his streak was about to end. A few holes over, Mark Calcavecchia was doing some streaking of his own--straight toward one of golf’s magical numbers.

Calcavecchia fell short of a record-tying 59, but did manage an 11-under-par 60 Friday to tie the PGA Tour record for lowest 36-hole score and take a commanding lead midway through the Phoenix Open at Scottsdale, Ariz.

“I thought I was going to birdie the last three for a 59,” Calcavecchia said. “You don’t get that chance often, so I was aiming at the flags.”

Calcavecchia birdied two of the final three holes, barely missing a 20-footer for a third birdie on the 17th hole that would have given him a final shot at the 59 that has been reached only three times in PGA Tour history.

It was the lowest score ever for the two-time Phoenix Open winner, who birdied five of his last six holes in the first round and added 11 more birdies against no bogeys in the second.

“I do get on stretches when I’m pretty scary good,” Calcavecchia said. “I get a little streaky, that’s for sure.”

Woods, meanwhile, saw his remarkable streak of 52 consecutive rounds of par or better come to a watery end with a two-over 73 that left him 13 shots back.

“You can’t always have a streak and not have it end,” Woods said. “Unfortunately, it ended today because I just didn’t make the putts I wanted to make.”

Woods hadn’t shot worse than par since the first round of the Byron Nelson Classic on May 11, a streak that included 14 PGA Tour events. If you count all competitive rounds during that stretch--which Woods does--the streak would be 62 rounds of par or better.

But the putter that had pulled out other rounds when Woods wasn’t striking the ball well didn’t cooperate at the par-71 TPC of Scottsdale course where Woods had shot a seemingly effortless 65 only the day before.

Woods put two balls in the water on the par-five 15th to effectively end his chances, although he still could have matched par had he holed an 87-yard wedge shot on the final hole.

“It’s not the fact I’m hitting it terrible,” Woods said. “If I just make a couple more putts, I could have been right there.”

Calcavecchia’s 125 total matched a record set by Woods in the NEC Invitational last year, and put him five shots ahead of Scott Verplank and six ahead of Rocco Mediate. A frost delay pushed back play Friday, and darkness forced part of the field to come back today to finish their second rounds.

*

Barb Mucha, seeking her first LPGA Tour victory since 1998, shot a three-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Office Depot tournament at Miami.

Mucha had a bogey-free round on the Doral Golf Resort and Spa’s Red Course for a four-under 138 total. She opened with a 71 on the par-72 Blue Course, the site of the final two rounds.

“It’s still a long way to Sunday,” said Mucha, who missed cuts in the season-opening tournaments in Orlando and Naples, Fla. “If a few more putts had dropped it would have been a lot better.

“I’m playing well. If you can shoot two- or three-under par every day here, you should have a chance to win.”

Kellee Booth and South Korea’s Grace Park, both former Doral Junior champions, are in a tie for second. Booth had six birdies and three bogeys in a 69 on the Blue Course, and Park had three birdies in a 69 on the Red Course.