On a day when sunshine gave way to a light rain, two things stayed the same Friday at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, Calif. Charlie Wi was still atop the leaderboard, and Tiger Woods didn’t hole enough putts to make up ground.
Wi escaped most of the rain at Pebble Beach, where he holed a wedge from the 13th fairway for eagle and limited the damage to a bogey on his final hole for a 3-under 69 that left him at 12-under 130 and allowed him to open a three-shot lead.
First-round co-leader Dustin Johnson’s short game let him down, and the two-time Pebble champion had to settle for a 72 that put him three back.
Padraig Harrington had a 66 at Pebble Beach and was among those tied for third at 8 under. Harrington had five birdies in a six-hole stretch early in his round, the exception coming at the par-5 sixth.
Woods, meanwhile, again looked poised to make a move over at Monterey Peninsula. He missed a 5-foot birdie putt on No. 9 and failed to make birdie on the par-5 10th when he pulled his second shot into the gallery. He had to settle for a 2-under 68, leaving him six behind.
“It’s very close,” said Woods, playing this event for the first time in 10 years. “I got my ball-striking to where I feel very comfortable hitting the shots. I just need to make a couple of putts to get on a roll.”
Phil Mickelson ran off five birdies for a 65 at Monterey Peninsula that put him five shots behind.
Only 56 players broke par, compared with 87 in the opening round.
Puyallup’s Ryan Moore tied Harrington for the best score of the day to par. Moore scorched the Monterey Peninsula layout for a 6-under 64 to join Woods and two others at 6-under 136.
Vijay Singh had a 68 at Spyglass Hill and Brian Gay had a 65 at Monterey Peninsula to join Harrington among those at 8-under par. Hunter Mahan, fresh off his one-week journey to the Middle East for the Qatar Masters, had a 70 at Pebble Beach and was in the group at 7-under par, along with Mickelson.
ELSEWHERE
U.S. Women’s Open champion So Yeon Ryu shot a 4-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead over fellow South Korean player Hee Kyung Seo in the LPGA Tour’s season-opening Women’s Australian Open in Melbourne. Ryu was at 6-under 140. … U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy and Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn shot 7-under 65 to share the second-round lead in the Dubai Desert Classic. First-round leader Rafael Cabrera-Bello was a stroke back after a 69. … Corey Pavin shot an 8-under 64 to take a two-shot lead over Fred Funk, Bernhard Langer and Peter Senior after the first round of the Allianz Championship in Boca Raton, Fla.
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