McIlroy hot in late stages of 2nd round to take Dubai lead

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Rory McIlroy shot 5-under for the seven holes he played Saturday to take a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Dubai Desert Classic.

The four-time major champion was three-under par for his round after 11 holes when play was suspended Friday after heavy fog in the morning had delayed the start of the second round by 2 hours, 50 minutes.

But in perfect conditions Saturday, the 28-year-old finished a great round with three consecutive birdies for a 64 and a two-round total of 15-under 129.

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Jamie Donaldson, who shot 69, was in second place.

The cut was at 5-under, the lowest in the history of the tournament. The previous low cut was 3-under in 2001 and 2007.

The third round was scheduled for later Saturday.

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Palmer takes lead into a weekend that includes Tiger Woods

SAN DIEGO (AP) Ryan Palmer is the 36-hole leader in the Farmers Insurance Open. Jon Rahm is right behind, poised to reach No. 1 in the world. And for the first time in 29 months, a PGA Tour event will feature Tiger Woods on the weekend.

Palmer finished eagle-birdie on the North Course at Torrey Pines for a 5-under 67. That gave him a one-shot lead over Rahm, the defending champion who birdied two of his last three holes on the North for a 66.

The biggest buzz, as usual, was for Woods. He kept his fairway-lined following in suspense over his closing stretch on the front nine Friday simply by trying to make the cut, and it came down to the very last hole .

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A wild drive was saved by a perfect flop shot to escape with par on No. 6. Another superb chip on the reachable par-4 seventh set up a birdie, the first time all week he was under par. A chip that bounced hard and rolled off the back of the green led to bogey and left him one shot outside the cut line..

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Palmer takes lead into a weekend that includes Tiger Woods

SAN DIEGO (AP) Ryan Palmer is the 36-hole leader in the Farmers Insurance Open. Jon Rahm is right behind, poised to reach No. 1 in the world. And for the first time in 29 months, a PGA Tour event will feature Tiger Woods on the weekend.

Palmer finished eagle-birdie on the North Course at Torrey Pines for a 5-under 67. He had a one-shot lead over Rahm, the defending champion who birdied two of his last three holes on the North for a 66.

Woods had to rally to make the cut in his return from a fourth back surgery. He was on the wrong side of the green on the par-5 ninth on the North and two-putted from 75 feet for birdie for a 71 to make the cut on the number.

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LPGA Tour opener suspended, shortened because of high wind

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) Brooke Henderson bogeyed the first hole to drop into a tie for the lead Friday before the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic was suspended for the day – and later cut from 72 to 54 holes – because of high wind that moved balls on an exposed green.

Sustained 30-35 mph wind gusting to the low 40s hit the Ocean Club Golf Course, forcing officials to stop second-round play at 8:39 a.m. They shortened the season-opening event to 54 holes in an attempt to complete play Sunday, and didn’t rule out a Monday finish.

”Yesterday we were able to play and complete the round, but we did have an isolated ball move here and there, but it wasn’t much and we could get it right back into play,” said Sue Witters, the LPGA’s vice president of Tour rules and competition. ”This morning was a different story. The winds are up from what they were and we got to the point on 13 where we could not get a ball to stay at rest on the green.”

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On Thursday, H..

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The Latest: A clutch birdie by Woods allows him to make cut

SAN DIEGO (AP) The Latest on Tiger Woods’ second round at the Farmers Insurance Open (all times local):

2:30 p.m.

For the first time in 29 months, Tiger Woods is playing the weekend on the PGA Tour.

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Woods rallied with four birdies on his back nine of the North Course at Torrey Pines, none bigger than the last one. He was one shot out of the cut line when he reached the far right side of the green on the par-5 ninth hole, some 75 feet away. Needing two putts for a birdie, he lagged it beautifully to a few feet short and tapped in for a 1-under 71.

That was projected as the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open.

This is only his second PGA Tour event since he tied for 10th in the Wyndham Championship in August 2015. He had two back surgeries that fall, and fusion surgery on his lower back last April.

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2:10 p.m.

As soon as Tiger Woods got inside the cut line, he dropped back outside of it when he bogeyed the par-3 No. 8 at Torrey Pines North, his ..

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The Latest: Tiger Woods in danger of missing cut

SAN DIEGO (AP) The Latest on Tiger Woods’ second round at the Farmers Insurance Open (all times local):

1 p.m.

After making his first birdie of the round on the first hole of his back nine at Torrey Pines North, Tiger Woods has shot par on three straight holes in the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

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Woods made the turn at 2-over 38, thanks in large part to a double-bogey on the par-4 No. 13, before making birdie on the par-4 No. 1.

He remained 1-over with pars on the next three holes.

Woods is in danger of missing the cut in his season debut on the PGA Tour.

Woods is returning after fusion surgery on his lower back last April, his fourth back operation in three years. When he tried to return after a 16-month break last year at Torrey Pines, he missed the cut.

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12:31 p.m.

Tiger Woods got off to a bad start in the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and things got even worse, leaving him in ..

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All the feels: Woods grinds it out to make cut at Farmers

SAN DIEGO (AP) These are the new realities for 42-year-old Tiger Woods. He had to grind out a round simply to be able to play on the weekend and is getting used to the ”feels” of his surgically repaired back.

Woods didn’t have to race off to the airport Friday, after all. He made the cut right on the number in the Farmers Insurance Open by rallying with four birdies on his back nine for a 1-under 71 on the North Course at Torrey Pines.

It’s the first time in 29 months that Woods will be playing the weekend on the PGA Tour.

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”It was a grind,” Woods said a few minutes after walking off the course to cheers. ”I fought hard. Typical, you know, just me going out there and fighting for whatever I can get. It’s all good.”

This is only his second PGA Tour event since he tied for 10th in the Wyndham Championship in August 2015. He had two back surgeries that fall, and fusion surgery on his lower back last April.

When was the last time he felt this type of g..

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Tiger Woods in danger of missing cut at Torrey Pines

SAN DIEGO (AP) Tiger Woods got off to a bad start in the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and things got even worse, leaving him in danger of missing the cut.

Woods made the turn at 2-over 38 Friday on the North Course, which was toughened up during a recent renovation.

He didn’t get his first birdie until the first hole of his back nine, the par-4 No. 1.

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Woods’ first shot of the day was a drive on the 536-yard, par-5 No. 10 that went 65 yards left of the fairway. He laid up in the rough, hit to 35 feet and took a par on what is considered a birdie hole.

He took a double bogey on the 459-yard, par-4 13th. His drive went into the ravine to the left and he took a penalty drop. He missed the green to the left and chipped through the green before two-putting.

Woods is playing for the first time since recovering from a fourth back surgery that cost him another year on the PGA Tour.

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LPGA Tour opener suspended because of high wind

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) Brooke Henderson bogeyed the first hole to drop into a tie for the lead Friday before the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic was suspended for the day because of high wind.

Sustained 30-35 mph wind gusting to the low 40s hit the Ocean Club Golf Course and was forecast to continue through the afternoon, forcing officials to stop second-round play at 8:39 a.m.

”Yesterday we were able to play and complete the round, but we did have an isolated ball move here and there, but it wasn’t much and we could get it right back into play,” said Sue Witters, the LPGA’s vice president of Tour rules and competition. ”This morning was a different story. The winds are up from what they were and we got to the point on 13 where we could not get a ball to stay at rest on the green.”

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On Thursday, Henderson shot a bogey-free 5-under 68 in high wind to take a one-stroke lead in the season-opening tournament. The bogey on the par-4 first dropped the ..

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Donaldson leads clubhouse in Dubai part way into 2nd round (Jan 26, 2018)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Welsh golfer Jamie Donaldson followed his opening 62 with a solid 3-under-par 69 to take the clubhouse lead in the weather-interrupted second round of the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday.

Tee times were delayed for nearly three hours because of thick fog. That led to none of the afternoon groups, including Rory McIlroy and defending champion Sergio Garcia, being able to finish their second round when darkness suspended play.

Donaldson was on 13-under 131 at the halfway stage, with Li Haotong second, one shot behind after a consecutive 66s.

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Branden Grace shot 65 to lie third in the clubhouse at 11 under.

Miguel Angel Jimenez showed at 54 he could still compete with the youngsters as he moved to 10 under with a 68. Thomas Aiken (67) was tied with Jimenez.

Among those still on the course, McIlroy was 10 under after 11 holes. Garcia and Henrik Stenson were 6- and 7-under par respectively playing alongside McIlroy.

Tom..

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