Two shots into the water cost Tiger Woods the lead at the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday.
Danish journeyman Anders Hansen made nine birdies for a nine-under 63 and Retief Goosen celebrated his 39th birthday with a five-under 67 to share the second-round lead at 13-under 131.
Woods hit two balls into water, one for a bogey, and another for a double bogey, but still managed a 66 to tie for third with Nick Dougherty (66) and first-round co-leader Richard Green (69). They trail the leaders by two shots at 11-under.
Woods seemed headed for a score in the low 60s — he opened with an eagle and was six-under after eight holes.
”I turned a great round into a — a round. Frustrating,” Woods said. ”You know me, I hate dropping shots. Especially when you have a good round going like that.”
Defending champion Ernie Els was three shots off the leaders with a 66. He made his 70th straight cut on the European tour, breaking Bernhard Langer’s record of 69.
Six players failed to complete the round because of darkness, and will finish early on Saturday before the third round.
Goosen made his season debut at the Dubai after a six-week break. He tied for the lead on the final hole, dropping a twisting 20-foot birdie putt after his three-iron to the green barely cleared water at the front.
”There was about a yard-and-a-half break on the putt, so it was nice to roll that one in,” Goosen said. ”I was a little bit on the lucky side.”
Woods’ round collapsed on his ninth hole — the 547-yard 18th — with a water ball and a bogey.
His drive found a hazard down the right side. The ball rested against TV cables, near a stoney bank surrounding a pond. He was allowed to move the cables, but then sliced a low iron into the water protecting the front of the green. Taking a penalty, he hit his fourth shot to seven feet — but missed the putt to save par.
”I didn’t have a very good lie, and I was marginal whether I should go for it or not,” Woods said. ”I was just trying to hit the ball somewhere to the left of the hole and it just squirted off to the right and fell in a little nosedive.”
The second nine was up and down — four birdies to go with a double bogey. He found water again on the par-three number four, dropping his tee shot into a pond to the right of the green. This time, he made double bogey after failing to drop a two-foot putt. He added a bogey on number six before closing with three pars.
Hansen, a one-time winner on the European Tour in 11 years, couldn’t stop smiling about his nine-birdie performance.
”I was grinning and laughing on 14 and my caddie asked me why, and I wouldn’t tell him,” Hansen said. ”I just felt I couldn’t go wrong, and that feeling is such a good feeling. I wish I could have that every day. All of a sudden today, everything seemed to go in.”
Goosen had other things on his mind besides golf. His three-year-old son, Leo, escaped injury on Thursday in a car accident in London. – Sapa-AP