He’s Still Pouring It On

In a tournament that started out on ESPN but might end up on the Weather Channel, Tiger Woods on Friday took one giant puddle-jump toward adding another title to his impressive resume, otherwise known here as the United States National Downpour.

Proving even a kid from dehydrated Southern California can adjust his game and his slickers at a moment’s notice, Woods fired a rain-drenched two-under-par 68 at Bethpage Black to extend his 36-hole lead to three shots at the 102nd U.S. Open.

Woods’ score of 67-68 for a total of 135 through two rounds leaves him at five under par overall and the leader in a very soggy clubhouse.

With a lucky-charmed afternoon round of 68, Padraig Harrington of Ireland stands at 138 after 36 holes, two under overall and three shots back of Woods.

Woods, Harrington, Japan’s Shigeki Maruyama, who shot a 67, and John Maginnes (69) were the only players who broke par Friday. Harrington is the only other player under par overall and the next-closest players are seven shots behind Woods.

Game over?

“I don’t think anybody’s going to catch him,” Jay Haas said of Woods. “I think he’s gone for good.”

At least Harrington’s belated charge left some doubt.

Yet, consider that Woods has held the second-round lead at four previous majors--the 1997 Masters, 2000 U.S. Open, 2000 British Open, 2000 PGA Championship--and went on to win all four.

It was another creative and determined day for Woods, who staved off a string of potential bogeys to seize command of the day.

It was also a fortunate day for Woods, who played under a steady drizzle in the morning but completed his round before the sky really unloaded in the afternoon just as his primary contenders--Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Harrington and K.J. Choi--were teeing up balls and battening down hatches.

Garcia, whose opening-round 68 left him only a shot behind Woods, did a lot of back-puddling Friday, losing his edge and, at times, his temper during his round of four-over 74. Garcia now trails Woods by seven shots.

Garcia, whose nickname is El Nino, insisted afterward that play should have been halted during the downpour and suggested there was a conspiracy--another Water-gate?

“I don’t know, if Tiger Woods had been out there, I think it would have been called,” Garcia said.

Then again, Harrington somehow managed a 68 playing in the afternoon.

Garcia was jumpy all day. At the par-four 16th hole early in his round--he started at No. 10--Garcia backed off a fairway shot and made a hand gesture to a fan who had shouted something from the gallery.

“Sometimes they make some stupid comments,” Garcia said.

There’s an adage it’s better to be lucky than good, yet Garcia is right about this: Woods is lucky and good.

Woods caught a weather break at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

Remember that?

Woods, under sunny skies, fired an opening-round 65 in the morning before a fog descended on the course, causing play to be suspended with 75 players on course.

If you’re looking for omens, Woods won that Open by 15 shots.

“I’ve still got to play 36 more holes,” Woods cautioned Friday, trying to comfort NBC’s corporate sponsors. “It’s not like we’re having the awards presentation today.”

Woods has been playing on another plane for some time.

Friday, he was on another hydro-plane.

He opened and closed Friday’s round with bookend birdies and scrambled enough in between to keep his clubs above water.

Woods actually started with birdies on No. 1 and No. 2, recovering on the opening hole after he sprayed his tee shot into the right rough.

He surged as low as six under after he made birdie on the par-five fourth.

He gave back shots with a bogey on No. 8 and one on No. 10 but even his miscues are smart.

After knocking his second shot in a bunker on No. 8, a 210-yard par three, Woods decided against going for the glory shot.

“I buried it in the left bunker and had no shot at making par,” Woods said. “I said, ‘I’m just going to grind it out so I don’t make double. Go ahead and make your bogey, and let’s get out of here.’ ”

Woods, trying to become the first player since Jack Nicklaus in 1972 to win the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year, finished with four birdies and two bogeys, but he was most proud of his 12 pars.

At No. 15, a tough par four, Woods got up-and-down from a bunker.

But his best save of the day came at the par-three 17th after his tee shot landed in the thick rough.

Not even Houdini escapes this, right?

Wrong.

Woods gently flipped his club blade through the wet grass and the ball rose up and landed gently on the green, where it nearly rolled into the cup for a birdie.

“It came out absolutely perfect,” he said of his chip.

Another par save.

“Those par putts are the key,” he said. “You’re going to have to make them. No matter what you do, you’re going to have to somehow make those par putts to stay in the tournament.”

After the save on 17, Woods took a ferry over to No. 18, a par four, and rolled in an 18-footer to end his day with a birdie.

You wonder how Woods, a kid who grew up in Southern California, could look so Gene Kelly comfortable in the rain.

Yet, nary an angle of Woods’ golf education was neglected.

On the few occasions it did rain in Southern California, Woods grabbed his clubs and headed for a course.

“The only hard part was trying to convince my mom that I could go out and play without catching a cold,” Woods said. “That was not easy.”

This U.S. Open has not been booked and recorded, yet catching Woods over the final 36 holes might be a bigger longshot than Sarava at Belmont.

“It’s going to be difficult, there’s no doubt about it,” Woods said. “In any U.S. Open, it’s always going to be difficult to make up shots because it’s not easy to make birdies.”

Friday, Woods wondered how much more rain the course could take.

The better question is how much more of Tiger Woods the U.S. Open field can handle.

The educated guess was leaning toward “not much.”