Kenny Perry Leads Bay Hill Invitational

Posted 7:55PM on Saturday 19th March 2005 ( 20 years ago )

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Kenny Perry and Vijay Singh moved to the front of the pack in separate races Saturday at the Bay Hill Invitational. Perry was leading the tournament at 9 under when the third round was suspended by darkness, thanks to his amazing accuracy off the tee. Singh seized control of the battle for No. 1, thanks to astonishing collapses by Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. A marathon day at Bay Hill that featured wild shifts in momentum finally ended with Perry taking a one-shot lead over Stephen Ames into a final day that should be equally taxing. Perry took the 36-hole lead, his first on the PGA Tour in nearly two years, with a 4-under 68 in the second round that was played Saturday morning. He added two quick birdies to keep his name at the top. Ames was at 8 under, while Singh birdied the 13th hole in near darkness to reach 7 under, along with K.J. Choi. Fred Couples was at 5 under. Singh didn't play a single shot until he teed off late Saturday afternoon, then nearly made an ace on the second hole while firing off three straight birdies to get into contention. The 42-year-old Fijian, who gave up his No. 1 ranking to Woods two weeks ago, is in prime condition to get it back. A victory would make it easy, but Singh also could return to the top by finishing in a two-way tie for third - provided Woods winds up out of the top 20. And that certainly looks possible. Woods shot a 70 in the morning and was only three shots out of the lead, poised to move toward the top at a tournament he won four straight years. But he struggled early, then fell apart. He failed to birdie the par-5 sixth hole despite having a mid-iron into the green for his second shot. He missed the seventh green to make bogey and fall six shots behind. Then, he piped his tee shot onto the driving range, out of bounds, on the ninth hole for a double bogey. When he climbed into a van to leave the course, Woods was even par for the tournament and nine shots off the lead and in a tie for 33rd. Even more surprising is that Woods was only one shot better than Els. The Big Easy also had a chance to reach No. 1 this week, but those hopes seemingly ended in his second round. He was only three shots out of the lead until hitting into the water on the par-5 16th (bogey), hitting into more water on the 18th and three-putting (triple bogey), and going out-of-bounds on the third hole when his tee shot bounced hard off a cart path. He wound up with a 77, matching his high score at Bay Hill, and made the cut on the number. Els was 3 under for his third round, 1 over for the tournament. The most stunning turnaround came from U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, a forgotten figure the first two rounds while playing with Woods and Els in the star grouping. It didn't help that he opened with a 78. But the stoic South African rallied with two batches of birdie streaks - three straight on the back nine, four straight on the front nine - for a 67 in the second round, matching Jimmy Walker for the low score this week. Then, Goosen fired off more birdies and was only four shots off the lead at one point. He closed with back-to-back bogeys, however, for a 68 that him a 3-under 213. "I hit the ball like I hadn't hit it in 10 years. Shocking," Goosen said of his opening round. "I felt like withdrawing and, you know, just go home. I though I might as well come out and work on my game." The clubhouse leaders were Aaron Baddeley and Duffy Waldorf, each of whom had a 68 and were at 4-under 212. The third round will resume at 8 a.m. Sunday, and the final round is expected to finish on schedule. Perry has not won since playing the best golf of his career in 2003, winning three times in four starts. But he looks tough to beat at Bay Hill, missing only one fairway in the 29 holes he played Saturday. That's important this week considering the rough is 5 inches deep and extremely thick. Choi had a share of the lead early Saturday until hitting into the water and making bogey on the 16th in his second round, then ending with a double bogey. His approach found the bunker and, faced with a downhill shot with the pond on the other side, he left his third shot in the sand. By the end of the day, he was in the mix of a tournament long far from being over. Divots:@ Darren Clarke won't win the Bay Hill Invitational, but at least he's still playing. Clarke was one shot under the cut line when his approach to the 18th hit the rocks framing the water. Instead of going in the pond for a probably double bogey, it found land and he made par. ... Adam Scott made the cut, and he earned it. He was 1 over the cut line until he closed his second round at eagle-birdie-par. ... Andrew Magee had a hole-in-one on the 218-yard second hole with a 5-iron. It didn't help him make the cut.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/3/138401