TIGER Woods for once did not have things go all his own way but he still held on in blustery and unusually cold conditions to lead at the halfway stage of the Dubai Desert Classic.
Following five carefree rounds to kick off his season, the world No.1 was made to struggle at times as a cold front surged through the emirate, blasting sand over the Majlis Course and sending temperatures plunging to unseasonal lows.
His run of 20 consecutive sub-par rounds, dating back five months, seemed likely at one stage to come on an abrupt halt, but he produced a gutsy finish to birdie two of the last three holes for a one-under total of 71.
That left him eight-under for the tournament, one shot clear of 36-year-old Damien McGrane, who used his experience of playing in windy weather back home in Ireland to card a battling 69.
Defending champion Henrik Stenson kept in touch in third place, a further stroke back, after finishing early with a 70, while Thomas Levet, from France, pulled level with the Swede thanks to a late 71.
Seven players were a further stroke back on five-under, including Spain’s Sergio Garcia.
"I feel fine, pleased with anything in the red today," Woods said.
"It was not a pretty day out there.
"We had a myriad of distractions and you had to be committed to what you’re doing.
"You can make a great swing, do everything right and get a gust and look like an idiot. That’s just the way it is."
The weather was in stark contrast to the placid, blue skies and warm sunshine of day one, when more than 50 players finished their round under par. Instead, matching par became a tough assignment.
Woods started the second round two strokes clear of the field after a commanding seven-under par 65 on Thursday, and he was looking for a repeat of his second-round performance in his season-opener at the Buick Invitational in California last week.
On that occasion, he shot a 65 to move from two strokes off the lead to four ahead at the halfway stage. He went on to win by a comfortable eight strokes – his fourth consecutive win dating back to the tail-end of last year.
The pack chasing to keep up with Woods bunched into an 11-way tie for second place, two strokes back, with the two men seen as his main challengers – defending champion Stenson and three-time winner Ernie Els – a further stroke back with 12 others.
Stenson and Els were among those out early, both set on keeping Woods in their sights, but they both dropped shots in the testing, early going as gusts of wind whipped up the desert sand and reduced visibility.
Playing together, they stuck manfully to their tasks with Stenson getting to six-under, one off Woods at that stage, after his round of 70. Els finished two strokes further back.
"It was really cold and windy this morning," Stenson, ” a Dubai resident, said.
"It’s very rare to have strong winds like this."
Several players made a run at Woods’s lead in the afternoon, after he opened with a bogey, and McGrane and Hennie Otto, from South Africa, were ahead of the American by a stroke until he pulled ahead again at the finish.
Otto fell away with a double-bogey at the last, but McGrane held firm to set up a dream pairing with Woods.
"I’m sure it’s something that is going to be very different," the Irishman said.
"It’s an experience I haven’t had before playing with a player of his stature. I suppose there’s nobody bigger in the game that’s for sure.
"But he has his game and I have my game and I try to do the best with what I have."
Agence France-Presse
Source: Woods struggles but stays ahead
