GOLF/NEC Invitational: Darren Clarke got the better of Tiger Woods over the first nine holes of their NEC World Championship second-round clash in Akron yesterday - but not by the amount he had hoped.
When the Ulsterman sank a 15-foot eagle putt on the 497-yard second and made a nine-footer for birdie at the next he led the six-million-dollar event by two strokes.
But then came bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes and as he began the back nine of Firestone's South Course he trailed 2001 US PGA champion David Toms by two and shared second place with Vijay Singh, Brad Faxon, Chris Riley and 47-year-old Fred Funk, who earlier in the day had missed equalling the course record by just one shot with a dazzling 62.
Woods, joint third overnight, resumed with a bogey after putting an iron off the tee into sand, birdied the second and then parred the next seven to remain five under, tied for seventh and now three strokes behind.
Toms sank a 128-yard approach to the 469-yard sixth as he reached the turn in 32 and then birdied the 10th to stretch his lead to two.
Overnight leaders Ben Curtis and Sergio Garcia showed what a difference a day can make by tumbling off the leaderboard altogether.
Curtis, his mind maybe more on his wedding at the end of his third round today, double-bogeyed the first and bogeyed the third and sixth to go all the way back from six under to two under.
Garcia followed him into the water in front of the third green, had a double bogey of his own there and after grabbing a birdie on the sixth gave it back immediately by failing to get up and down from sand at the 219-yard seventh. He stood four under.
Following his round, Funk let everybody know what he thought of the British Open last month.
The 47-year-old, who in an inspired display sank a 120-yard pitch shot on the first and then holed a bunker shot at the short 15th, had moved all the way from joint 49th into a share of top spot by the time joint overnight leaders Ben Curtis and Sergio Garcia teed off again.
Curtis took away happy memories from Royal St George's, of course, after winning the very first major he had played in. But Funk's thoughts about the place are slightly different.
"I shouldn't say I hated the golf course, but I hated the golf course," he said.
"When I played six holes in Sunday's practice round I wanted to get back on the plane again.
"I was standing on the tee and didn't know where to aim it. It didn't reward good golf shots, I thought.
"When you had fairways like one, nine, 17 and 18 it really was nearly impossible to keep a ball in the fairway. I just don't understand that concept of design.
"I don't understand how they could think that's golf to me."
Funk shot rounds of 75 and 80 and missed the halfway cut, but such has been his form since that on Sunday night Jack Nicklaus gave him one of his two wild cards for the United States team at the Presidents Cup in South Africa in November.
Like Clarke, Padraig Harrington began his second round in sensational style by holing a 35-footer for an eagle at the uphill, 497-yard second hole, but after another up and down day had to settle for a one-over-par 71 and a tournament score of four-over 144.
"The start was up and down but the rest of it was pretty similar to yesterday," Harrington said. "I still feel a bit uncomfortable at times hitting the shots and I'm not really holing the putts either. I putted really well from distance but not so well close in," he added.
Asked after the health of Caroline, his wife, who is expecting their first child any day now, he said: "She's fine. Absolutely no movement. I was on to her this morning but she's fine.
"She is now four days late but I'll be out on Sunday night from here definitely the way I'm playing so I'll keep my fingers crossed. With the way this week is going it would be a bit of a disappointment to miss out, but the ball is in her court."
Paul McGinley added a one-over-par 71 to be one over.
"Of course I was disappointed with that finish. I finished bogey bogey, but you know I hit bad shots so I got what I deserved," said McGinley.
