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| August 24, 2003 | Sunday | Jumadi-us-Sani 25 |
Toms and Riley share honours
AKRON (Ohio), Aug 23: David Toms and Chris Riley used different methods to shoot identical scores for a share of the lead at the halfway stage of the World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational on Friday.
Paired together at Firestone Country Club’s South Course, Toms used a precision long game and Riley an economy of putting strokes to come in with three-under-par 67s.
The American duo ended the second round at seven-under 133, one stroke ahead of a hard-charging Fred Funk and Vijay Singh on a day when scoring conditions grew increasingly difficult because of freshening winds and fast fairways and greens.
“We were at a disadvantage to play as late as we did,” said Toms, the 2001 PGA champion, whose round was highlighted by an eagle at the par-four sixth hole after knocking in a pitching wedge from 127 yards.
“It was a totally different golf course in the afternoon.”
Toms hit 11 fairways and 13 greens in regulation, but could not distance himself from his playing partner, Riley, who took just 24 putts.
Riley often struggled to land on the fairway, yet he remains the only player in the field without a bogey.
“I didn’t drive the ball as well as I know I can. I really hung in there,” said Riley, who hit just five fairways and nine greens.
Funk, who benefited from the mid-morning conditions, shot a bogey-free eight-under 62, one off the course record.
His day began with an eagle-two at the par-four first when he holed out from 120 yards with a pitching wedge.
Second round scores
133 David Toms 66 67, Chris Riley 66 67
134 Fred Funk 72 62, Vijay Singh 69 65
135 Brad Faxon 68 67, Darren Clarke 65 70
136 Retief Goosen 67 69, Davis Love III 66 70
137 Peter Jacobsen 73 64, Dan Forsman 69 68, Jonathan Kaye 68 69, Hal Sutton 68 69, Ernie Els 67 70, Tiger Woods 65 72
138 Paul Casey 72 66, Steve Flesch 71 67, Trevor Immelman 70 68, Mark Calcavecchia 70 68, Jim Furyk 69 69, Robert Allenby 69 69, Rich Beem 69 69, Colin Montgomerie 68 70, Fred Couples 67 71
139 Chris DiMarco 71 68, Jerry Kelly 68 71, Scott Verplank 66 73
140 Nick Price 73 67, Alex Cejka 72 68, Charles Howell III 72 68, Shaun Micheel 71 69, Lee Westwood 70 70, Ben Curtis 64 76, Sergio Garcia 64 76 .—Reuters
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