If Friday was his last round in a major, Jack Nicklaus enjoyed the walk.
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Nick Faldo, who shot 79 in the first round, shot 68 in the second. Was the pace of play what helped him? "No. The difference is I was 11 shots better," Faldo said.
John Daly went the other way. Set to make the cut at 2-over for 12 holes, he took double-bogey at 13, bogey at 13, bogey at 16, triple-bogey on 17 and triple-bogey on 18 to finish 12-over. Daly signed his card and left the course.
Joining Daly on the sidelines this weekend: Steve Flesch (76-72), Vijay Singh (77-71), Nick Price (77-72), Fred Couples (79-70), Hal Sutton (74-75) and Greg Norman (75-77).
Valhalla took more than 3 inches of rain overnight during a fierce thunderstorm. A tree, 20 inches in diameter and 50 feet tall, fell on the 10th hole but didn't damage the course.
What did the rain mean to Valhalla? "You have to add about three clubs to what you were hitting (Thursday)," said Scott Hoch. "I thought I could make some birdies if I made some good shots, but it is tough making them with woods and 4-irons to these tight pins."
Players are dropping out of the PGA at an alarming rate, none more alarming than Rocco Mediate, who hurt his back when a chair he was trying to sit in collapsed prior to the first round. Mediate shot 77, but couldn't play in the second round. Also withdrawing Friday: Tom Lehman, Ben Crenshaw, Jim Carter and Tom Scherrer.
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The Bear says goodbye
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Jack Nicklaus knew what he had to do. He always has.
He stood in the 18th fairway at Valhalla -- on the fairway he had conceived of and created as a course architect -- knowing he had to hole a 72-yard wedge shot to make the cut. The crowd surrounding the 18th green and stretching down the fairway stood and roared when Nicklaus got to within 250 yards of the flag. And they didn't stop until he settled over the ball and swung.
And -- typical Nicklaus -- he nearly holed the shot. It hit just behind the hole and backed up, trickling by the cup and settling two feet away. He calmly made the birdie putt, closing a round of 71 and, for all we know, closing his career as a competitor in major championship golf.
"If it's going to be my last hole in major championship golf -- it may be and it may not be -- it was certainly a nice way to end the year," he said.
If it was Nicklaus' final major, he left with some theatrics. Still mourning the death of his mother on Wednesday and coming off a opening-round 77, he birdied the first two holes to get to get to 3-over and on the cut line at the time. Instead of slump-shouldered, Nicklaus' hat was crooked, his walk was purposeful, his shirt was sweat-stained and his face was etched in concentration.
But the 60-year-old Nicklaus is not the 36-year-old Nicklaus. He never got closer, and bogeys at Nos. 12 and 14 left him in need of two birdies down the stretch. He didn't get them.
"I had good chances at 15," Nicklaus said. " had good chances at 16. Had a good chance at 17. And that left me having to make the shot at 18."
Nicklaus said he enjoyed playing with Tiger Woods in the opening rounds. He recalled playing with Gene Sarazen at the twilight of his career. This week, he did the same thing with Woods.
He gave Woods and A-plus for his game and course management. Nicklaus used to receive similar marks.
As Nicklaus walked off the green, the youngsters posting scores and messages on the huge greenside scoreboard spelled out "37 Golden Years at the PGA -- Thank You Bear."
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Dark side of the championship: The 18th hole looked like a local muni late Friday night. Three groups -- a pair of twosomes and a threesome -- were in the fairway at one time. Nick Price reportedly told Tom Pernice Jr., playing in the group in front of him, that if he got to the 18th hole he'd go ahead and hit into his group. Price did.
Paul Stankowski, playing in the group behind Price, got next to the 18th green and marked, opting to return Saturday to complete his round. If Stankowski makes par, he plays the weekend. If he doesn't, he misses the cut.
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OVERHEARD
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HAYES
On why he's gone from Appleton, Wis., to El Paso, Texas: "That girl in the blue back there. ... I got there because of golf, and I have stayed there because of Laura and the great weather." |
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MONTGOMERIE
On another struggle in a major championship: "I've only made three birdies in two days, and that's not enough. You can't compete having just three birdies." |
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ELS
On his chances: "I needed to shoot 64 today, but I'm pleased with a 68. I have to go really low over the weekend. I have to shoot a couple of 66s." |
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FUNK
On how Woods might lose: "That water's pretty high on the bridge at No. 6 that we have to walk across. If he slips and falls in, we've got a chance. I don't know how well he swims." |
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