This Rose not the garden variety

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/07/2010 (5813 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Justin Rose was happy to be leading the AT&T National, especially because it was only five days ago that he threw away a chance to win with a surprising meltdown in the final round.

Tiger Woods? He’s happy to still be playing.

Rose played bogey-free Friday and wound up with the best score of the tournament, a 6-under 64, to build a one-shot lead over Jason Day and Charlie Wi going into the weekend at demanding Aronimink Golf Club.

“Obviously, you have a day like today where everything goes your way and it’s easy to think, ‘Well, this course isn’t that difficult.’ But you just need to really keep your patience around here,” Rose said.

Woods hit the ball well for the second straight day. He again got nothing out of it, however, and missed a 30-inch putt late in the round that brought him back to a 70. He was at 3-over 143, which made the cut on the number.

“I’m driving it on a string right now, and that’s fun,” Woods said. “But if you don’t make putts, no matter how good you hit the golf ball, you’re not going to shoot good scores.”

The scoring improved slightly in the second round, especially in the afternoon as the wind began to calm. Rose said his round was helped by being in the same group with Sean O’Hair (68) and J.B. Holmes (69), who also played well. They combined for 13 birdies and only one bogey over the 54 holes they played collectively.

For Rose, the timing could not have been better. In his first tournament since winning the Memorial by closing with a 66, Rose had a three-shot lead at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn., when it all fell apart. He shot 39 on the back nine for a 75 and tied for ninth.

— The Associated Press