Tiger Woods had a chance to pull away from the field. He had to settle for a one-shot lead yesterday in the Tour Championship in Atlanta, which still was not a bad place to be.
Over the final four holes, Woods missed consecutive putts from about 4 feet — one putt for eagle, the other for birdie — and closed with a bogey for a 2-under 68 in sweltering conditions at East Lake to lead Padraig Harrington and Sean O’Hair.
Woods was fuming over the missed putts. He found perspective shortly after signing for his seventh consecutive round in the 60s.
“The day as a whole was a good day,” Woods said. “I shot under par, I got myself . . . in the lead.”
Despite the lost opportunities, he was at 5-under 135 and in great position to capture the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus. None of the other players among the top five seeds — who can win the FedEx Cup with a victory at East Lake — were among the top 10 on the leaderboard going into the final two rounds.
Harrington would have to win the Tour Championship and have Woods finish in a two-way tie for second. O’Hair needs a victory and for Woods to be in at least a three-way tie for second.
The possibility is there. Woods is 33-7 when he has at least a share of the 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour, though it was just a month ago that he had a four-shot lead in the PGA Championship and wound up losing to Y.E. Yang.
The immediate concern is winning the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake. And those scenarios also are numerous.
Ernie Els came to life with five birdies over his last 10 holes for a 66 and was just two shots behind at 3-under 137. Kenny Perry, who nearly wilted in the heat Thursday, also had a 66 and was at 2-under 138, along with Jerry Kelly (67).
“If I win this golf tournament and Tiger finishes second. . . . I’m going to be throwing a big party and jumping with joy,” O’Hair said. “Let’s face it, I’ve got to win this golf tournament to win the $10 million. If I do my job, that’s all I can do.”
Two share lead in SAS
Russ Cochran and Denis Watson shared the first round lead at 6-under 66 on a windy and drizzling day at the SAS Championship in Cary, N.C.
Ochoa one back in LPGA event
Sophie Gustafson (10-under through two rounds) shot a 3-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead over Lorena Ochoa, Maria Hjorth and Shanshan Feng in the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge in Danville, Calif.
Overseas tourneys
In Saint-Nom-La-Breteche, France, Britain and Ireland increased its lead over Continental Europe to 6-4 after the second round of fourball matches at the Vivendi Trophy, a match play event on the European Tour. . . . In Kyoto, Japan, Daisuke Maruyama shot a 5-under 66 to take the lead at the Asia-Pacific Open.