Publications
Partners
Dublin - Four-times champion Tiger Woods looked close to his very best in tough conditions at the Memorial tournament on Friday, ending a gruelling second round one shot behind pacesetting South African Rory Sabbatini.
In pursuit of a 73rd PGA Tour victory and his second this year, Woods carded a three-under-par 69 at a wet and windy Muirfield Village Golf Club, finishing level with fellow Americans Scott Stallings (73) and Spencer Levin (72).
"I'm pleased with the way I played today," Woods told reporters after mixing five birdies with a double-bogey at the par-three 12th.
"I missed a couple out there, but overall I knew in these conditions to shoot something in the 60s was going to be a pretty good effort."
Sabbatini was one stroke better at six-under on 138, having had to settle for a second successive 69 after missing a five-foot birdie putt at the last.
Several big names, however, struggled on the soggy, ultra-long Muirfield Village layout with Masters champion Bubba Watson and world number two Rory McIlroy, winner of last year's U.S. Open, among those missing the cut.
Woods began the day four shots behind first-round leader Stallings but drew level at the top with three birdies in his first six holes, pumping his right fist in delight when he sank a 26-footer at the par-four sixth.
Out in three-under 33, he wasted a chance to snatch the outright lead by missing a four-foot birdie putt at the par-five 11th, his ball sliding past the left edge.
Woods dropped out of the lead with a double-bogey at the 12th, where he over-hit the green to the left and needed two chip shots from tangly rough to reach the green before missing a 12-foot putt, but he swiftly recovered.
He knocked in five-footers to birdie the 15th and 16th and parred the last two holes to remain one stroke off the pace.
"I just felt I had to control my ball," Woods said. "That's all I was trying to do today. It's not about magic or past experience, it's just about controlling my golf ball and staying in the present.
"I hit the ball well all day, and it was a day that I needed to. The wind was blowing out there, it was swirling in those trees. It was just a tough day.
"I figured anything under par was going to be a good score, and I was able to post something in the 60s."
Sabbatini, a six-times winner on the PGA Tour, took over at the top when he drained an eight-foot birdie putt at the par-five 15th and then parred the last three holes to retain control.
"It feels good," said the South African, who has recorded only one top-10 in 15 starts on the PGA Tour in 2012. "It's been a trying year, and it's great to see some return on the effort I've been putting in.
"The course out there today, it was a tough one. It was hard fought the whole way. There was nothing easy out there. It played tough and showed its teeth pretty well.
"I'm happy to be where I am right now, and I've got two more days ahead of me. I've just got to continue to focus on what I've been doing for the last two days."
McIlroy missed his third consecutive cut worldwide after battling to a seven-over-par 79 to finish well down the leaderboard at six-over 150.
He failed to record a single birdie and wound up with two double-bogeys, one at the par-five 11th where he remarkably hit a shot backwards into water and another at the 14th, where he drove into water.
"I hit some good shots but it just seems like every time I go out there I make one or two big numbers and that sort of throws me," McIlroy said.
"I'm definitely hitting the ball better than I did last week, so I can see an improvement there but I've still got a long way to go.
Leaderboard:
138 - Rory Sabbatini (RSA) 69-69
139 - Spencer Levin 67-72, Scott Stallings 66-73, Tiger Woods 70-69
140 - Daniel Summerhays 69-71, Jim Furyk 72-68
141 - Troy Matteson 72-69, Jonathan Byrd 71-70, Trevor Immelman (RSA) 71-70, Aaron Baddeley (AUS) 69-72, Kyle Reifers 71-70
142 - Henrik Stenson (SWE) 74-68, Lucas Glover 74-68, Dustin Johnson 71-71, Adam Scott (AUS) 70-72, Rickie Fowler 71-71, Ryo Ishikawa (JPN) 72-70, Erik Compton 67-75, Greg Chalmers (AUS) 71-71, Andres Romero (ARG) 69-73, Bo Van Pelt 73-69, David Mathis 71-71
143 - Ryan Moore 70-73, Greg Owen (GBR) 72-71, Brandt Snedeker 69-74, Steve Stricker 73-70
144 - Ricky Barnes 72-72, Johnson Wagner 72-72, Stewart Cink 71-73, Matt Every 69-75, Jeff Overton 72-72, Brendon de Jonge (ZIM) 73-71, Luke Donald (GBR) 71-73
