|
Courtesy of Greg Hardwig
Naples Daily News
NAPLES -- The two teams tied for the lead at The Franklin Templeton Shootout arrived there different ways Friday.
 Leonard drained a 25-foot birdie on the 18th hole to grab a share of the lead. |
|
Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly were hot on the front nine, and Justin Leonard and Scott Verplank caught fire on the back. The end result was the same -- 6-under-par 66s at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort.
"One side went so well, and the other side just we were fighting and nothing was going right," said Stricker, the world's No. 3 player.
"Everything was very easy, consistent," said Kelly, who won this event with Rod Pampling in 2006 in a playoff with Leonard and Verplank. "It was fun. Not that the backside wasn't fun, but we just kind of hit that wall."
Kelly and Stricker, both from Wisconsin, birdied No. 5, eagled No. 6, birdied Nos. 7-9, then added another birdie on No. 12. But they struggled after that, playing the final six holes in 1-over.
"Just a lot of little things," Stricker said. "We didn't make the putts. We hit some good putts that went over the edges."
Leonard and Verplank did the opposite, with birdies on four of their last six holes. They were 3 under after six, but double-bogeyed No. 9.
"We played well on the back nine," Verplank said. "We played good on the front, but had a little hiccup on the ninth hole. We pretty much butchered that hole from the get-go."
Tim Clark and Chad Campbell are in third place, one back at 5 under, along with Steve Flesch and Dustin Johnson. Rickie Fowler, the 20-year-old who is the youngest player in Shootout history, and Chris DiMarco are tied for sixth with two other teams at 3 under.
The tournament, hosted by Greg Norman, continues through Sunday. Teams will play better ball Saturday and a scramble Sunday. Norman isn't playing in the event for the first time ever after having right shoulder surgery in late September.
 Poulter and Fisher, wearing matching plaid pants, survived a triple-bogey on the third hole and finished at 4 under. |
|
Verplank helped the pair finish off the round. He was in pine straw well off the green and behind the gallery ropes on the par-5 17th. Verplank was deciding among a 6- or 7-iron and a putter, and decided to putt it.
"The grass is so firm and it's cut so low around the greens that I had more confidence in just whacking at it with a putter," Verplank said.
Verplank nearly holed it out. Leonard then closed it out with a 25-foot birdie on the 18th.
Clark started the round with a 40-footer for birdie on No. 2, and finished it with a 9-footer on No. 18.
"It's nice to always finish your round with a birdie, regardless of what the score is," Clark said.
Clark and Campbell were able to stay in contention despite not doing well on the par-5s. They had three pars and a bogey.
Flesch, a late replacement for injured Fred Couples, and Johnson birdied four of the last six holes.
Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter survived a triple-bogey on the third hole to finish at 4 under. The two were wearing matching purple plaid pants.
| 
