SAN FRANCISCO - John Daly relied on the long ball to get back into contention, then to take the lead away from Colin Montgomerie on Saturday in an American Express Championship that kept a chilled gallery in suspense.
Daly hit a 378-yard drive that set up an eagle on the par-5 10th, ripped a 292-yard drive into the stiff wind for a chip-and-putt birdie on the par-4 16th, and finished his turbulent day at Harding Park with a 3-under 67 for a one-shot lead over Montgomerie.
Tiger Woods somehow finished two shots behind.
His scorecard showed a 68, but didn't include sketches of where some of his shots landed - one of them under an SUV parked in the woods, another that went off the cart path, over a 25-foot hospitality tent and was headed for the parking lot until it grazed someone's leg and stopped on the stairs.
Then there was Graeme McDowell, who was tied for the lead until he hit into the cypress trees along the wicked 18th hole and made quadruple bogey.
”Golf is a cruel game,“ McDowell said.
This test at San Francisco's municipal gem was simply riveting, and the best might be still to come.
Daly, who started with a bogey and a double bogey on his first three holes, was at 9-under 201 and poised to capture his first victory in 19 months.
Montgomerie, who only last week ended his 19-month victory drought, closed with 10 straight pars for a 69, giving him another tee time with Daly on Sunday. They will be joined by Sergio Garcia, who shot a 67 to join Woods at 7 under.
The blue sky and sunshine made for a spectacular afternoon along Lake Merced, but it was a grind for those trying to pick the right distance in cool, blustery conditions. Daly found that out early, having watched Montgomerie hit a hard 6-iron just over the flag. He went with a 7-iron, and nearly wound up in San Jose.
His shot over the green and the gallery led to a double bogey, and he disappeared into the pack. And his tee shot on the par-5 fourth didn't help when it landed under a scoreboard among the trees. But he carved a 5-iron out of the woods, hit a beautiful wedge at the flag to make birdie, and began a steady ascent.
Then came his mammoth tee shot on the 10th, which left him only an 8-iron for his second shot on the 552-yard hole. He made a 20-foot eagle putt and was a threat the rest of the day.
”That got me back in the tournament,“ he said.
Montgomerie heard almost as much noise as he did at St. Andrews in July when he outplayed Woods in the third round of the British Open. This time, the love was for Daly, and Monty didn't mind.
”The crowd is boisterous, which is positive in every way,“ he said. ”Having won last week, I'm relaxed. I've got nothing to lose.“
Garcia played capable of winning, especially after playing the only bogey-free round Saturday.
As for Woods?
He appeared to be capable of anything.
Woods nearly drove the seventh green again, winding up in a bunker but still making birdie to briefly tie for the lead. But he hit only five fairways, and some of them weren't even close, such as the 14th. His ball wound up under an SUV, and the hardest part was finding the marshal who had the keys so it could be moved. The marshal ran over the ball, allowing for a free drop, but it didn't keep Woods from bogey.
Right when he appeared to be slipping, he hit a good wedge into 5 feet for birdie on the 16th, hit a 6-iron to 7 feet for birdie on the 17th, and nearly got into the final group with an unlikely birdie chance on the 18th.
With the wind hard at his back, he lost his tee shot so far to the right that it went over the rough, the bunker, off a cart path and disappeared over the hospitality tent. After a free drop into rough, he hit into 15 feet, then watched his putt horseshoe around the cup.
”An eventful day,“ Woods said. ”Put the ball under a car, balls in the trees, made some putts, hit a couple of bunkers,“ he said. ”Pretty much saw most of Harding Park.“
Daly saw a lot of his driver. He is hitting it so well that he is hitting it 80 percent of the time. As for the other 20 percent?
”Those were the par 3s,“ Daly said.
He is a gallery favorite wherever he goes, because the fans love the long ball. And so does Daly.
”It's a lot of fun when it goes a long way and it goes straight, man,“ Daly said. ”When it goes crooked and all over the place, it's not a lot of fun. But it's to an advantage this week. So far, it's been paying off.“
Tiger Woods somehow finished two shots behind.
His scorecard showed a 68, but didn't include sketches of where some of his shots landed - one of them under an SUV parked in the woods, another that went off the cart path, over a 25-foot hospitality tent and was headed for the parking lot until it grazed someone's leg and stopped on the stairs.
Then there was Graeme McDowell, who was tied for the lead until he hit into the cypress trees along the wicked 18th hole and made quadruple bogey.
”Golf is a cruel game,“ McDowell said.
This test at San Francisco's municipal gem was simply riveting, and the best might be still to come.
Daly, who started with a bogey and a double bogey on his first three holes, was at 9-under 201 and poised to capture his first victory in 19 months.
Montgomerie, who only last week ended his 19-month victory drought, closed with 10 straight pars for a 69, giving him another tee time with Daly on Sunday. They will be joined by Sergio Garcia, who shot a 67 to join Woods at 7 under.
The blue sky and sunshine made for a spectacular afternoon along Lake Merced, but it was a grind for those trying to pick the right distance in cool, blustery conditions. Daly found that out early, having watched Montgomerie hit a hard 6-iron just over the flag. He went with a 7-iron, and nearly wound up in San Jose.
His shot over the green and the gallery led to a double bogey, and he disappeared into the pack. And his tee shot on the par-5 fourth didn't help when it landed under a scoreboard among the trees. But he carved a 5-iron out of the woods, hit a beautiful wedge at the flag to make birdie, and began a steady ascent.
Then came his mammoth tee shot on the 10th, which left him only an 8-iron for his second shot on the 552-yard hole. He made a 20-foot eagle putt and was a threat the rest of the day.
”That got me back in the tournament,“ he said.
Montgomerie heard almost as much noise as he did at St. Andrews in July when he outplayed Woods in the third round of the British Open. This time, the love was for Daly, and Monty didn't mind.
”The crowd is boisterous, which is positive in every way,“ he said. ”Having won last week, I'm relaxed. I've got nothing to lose.“
Garcia played capable of winning, especially after playing the only bogey-free round Saturday.
As for Woods?
He appeared to be capable of anything.
Woods nearly drove the seventh green again, winding up in a bunker but still making birdie to briefly tie for the lead. But he hit only five fairways, and some of them weren't even close, such as the 14th. His ball wound up under an SUV, and the hardest part was finding the marshal who had the keys so it could be moved. The marshal ran over the ball, allowing for a free drop, but it didn't keep Woods from bogey.
Right when he appeared to be slipping, he hit a good wedge into 5 feet for birdie on the 16th, hit a 6-iron to 7 feet for birdie on the 17th, and nearly got into the final group with an unlikely birdie chance on the 18th.
With the wind hard at his back, he lost his tee shot so far to the right that it went over the rough, the bunker, off a cart path and disappeared over the hospitality tent. After a free drop into rough, he hit into 15 feet, then watched his putt horseshoe around the cup.
”An eventful day,“ Woods said. ”Put the ball under a car, balls in the trees, made some putts, hit a couple of bunkers,“ he said. ”Pretty much saw most of Harding Park.“
Daly saw a lot of his driver. He is hitting it so well that he is hitting it 80 percent of the time. As for the other 20 percent?
”Those were the par 3s,“ Daly said.
He is a gallery favorite wherever he goes, because the fans love the long ball. And so does Daly.
”It's a lot of fun when it goes a long way and it goes straight, man,“ Daly said. ”When it goes crooked and all over the place, it's not a lot of fun. But it's to an advantage this week. So far, it's been paying off.“
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