ORLANDO, Fla. – Bill Haas wanted to atone for the way he finished his opening round. He did that and more Friday and was tied for the lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
That sure wasn't the case for Tiger Woods.
One shot out of the lead with three holes to play, Woods closed with three bogeys to fall four shots behind going into the weekend. That makes the chore a little more difficult in his bid to retain his title at Bay Hill and return to No. 1 in the world.
"The good news is, we've got 36 holes to go," Woods said. "We've got a long way to go. And certainly four shots can be made up."
Haas not only kept bogeys off his card, his longest putt for par was no more than 4 feet in a clean round of 6-under-par 66. He was tied with Justin Rose, who was poised to take the outright lead until he was fooled by the speed of the greens after late-afternoon showers and finished with a three-putt bogey for a 70.
They were at 9-under 135, one shot ahead of John Huh, who had a 69.
The finishing holes have proved pivotal in the opening two rounds. Haas was challenging for the lead Thursday when he flew his tee shot into the back bunker on the par-3 17th and had to two-putt from 40 feet for bogey. Then, he three-putted from 8 feet on the 18th hole for bogey.
Sixteen players were separated by five shots going into the weekend, and the question was how much fire the downpour at the conclusion of Friday would take out of Bay Hill.
Champions Tour in Saucier, Miss. – Recovered from hip surgery, Hal Sutton shot a 3-under 69 in the first round of the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic for a share of the lead with Steve Elkington, Corey Pavin and Roger Chapman.
LPGA Tour in Carlsbad – Beatriz Recari shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 to take the lead after two rounds in the Kia Classic.
The Spaniard's two-round total of 8-under 136 gave her a one-stroke lead over Paula Creamer and Karrie Webb.
Stacy Lewis, playing her first tournament as the world's top-ranked player, carded her second straight 70 and was four strokes off the lead.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Associated Press
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.