Three Tied for the Lead; Woods Barely Makes Cut

Charles Howell III was a little surprised to be sharing the lead with Steve Lowery and Matt Gogel after the second round of the Western Open on Friday.

Despite excellent scoring conditions, especially in the morning, few players were able to shoot low numbers at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club at Lemont, Ill.

Howell had a four-under-par 67 for a six-under total of 136 to move into a tie for the lead with Lowery (68) and Gogel, whose 64 was the best round of the day.

Tiger Woods flirted with missing the cut. He was three over late in his round, but he made a 60-foot putt on the sixth hole for the first of back-to-back birdies and finished with a 73. That put him a one-over 143, making the cut with a shot to spare.

He has made the cut in 126 consecutive tournaments, a PGA Tour record.

“I played in the afternoon and it was absolutely zero wind,” Howell said. “If you would have said there’s going to be no wind on Thursday and Friday, I would have thought at least by now 10, 12 under would have been leading.”

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Returning to competitive golf for the first time since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his hip in April, Peter Jacobsen shot a six-under 64 to tie Jerry Pate and Bobby Wadkins for the first-round lead at the Long Island Classic at East Meadow, N.Y.

“Nothing like a two-month vacation from golf to build up the juices,” Jacobsen said. “Heck, I was excited to play both days this week in the pro-am.”

Defending champion Jim Thorpe, who had a second-round 60 last year, opened with a 65 and was one stroke in front of Mike Hill.