Golf Capsules: Tiger's late push takes him to share of HSBC lead

SHANGHAI — The gallery kept growing until it stretched along all 603 yards of the eighth hole at Sheshan International. It took a little longer before Tiger Woods gave them what they came to see Friday in the HSBC Champions.

Losing patience with each missed putt, Woods finally knocked in a 10-foot birdie on the ninth hole and was on his way.

With five birdies over the final 10 holes, he pieced together another 5-under 67 and surged into a share of the 36-hole lead with Nick Watney in a World Golf Championship that had a distinctive American flavor. Seven of the top nine players on the leaderboard are from the United States.

Far more tantalizing going into the weekend was Woods and Phil Mickelson, who ended their PGA Tour season with a compelling battle in Atlanta, going at it again halfway around the world in China.

Woods missed six birdie chances inside 20 feet and was growing increasingly agitated until one putt on the ninth changed his outlook.

"It certainly was a little bit frustrating, but the guys weren’t running off and hiding, either," Woods said. "I knew if I could just play the back nine at 3-under par ... I figured that would probably be a pretty good number. And I did a couple better than that."

Mickelson chipped in for birdie on the 15th, then recovered from a poor tee shot with an unlikely birdie on the 16th. After trying to play short off the tee on the 288-yard hole and hitting hybrid into a bunker, Mickelson faced an awkward distance and a slightly plugged lie in the sand. He blasted a pitching wedge to 12 feet and made another birdie.

"One of the best shots I hit all day," Mickelson said, and one final birdie on the par-5 18th gave him a 66.

Behind him was Woods, hard to miss with the size of his gallery and the accompanying cheers. He came up short with his wedge and chipped in for birdie, then reached the green in two on the 538-yard closing hole framed by water for a two-putt birdie.

That put him in the lead at 10-under 134 with Watney, who birdied his last two holes for a 70.

Even in a World Golf Championship with players from 23 countries — the most diverse field for this series — Woods and Mickelson have been the attractions at the biggest tournament in Asian golf.

Woods first came to China in 2001 for an exhibition and remains a favorite of the star-struck crowd that calls him "Laohu," which is Mandarin Chinese for Tiger.

Mickelson won the HSBC Champions two years ago and has impressed the Chinese off the course, too, by speaking of a responsibility to play in Asia to help grow the game and talking up the two golf courses projects he has in the country, including one in Kunming with a par-3 course that he hopes will attract children.

"This is my third year here, and I’ve seen a great increase in the number of people that have come out to watch, as well as the excitement level," Mickelson said. "Obviously, Tiger Woods coming here plays a big part in that. But he also came here three or four years ago, and this is at a whole different level this year. It’s been neat to see."

Woods has come twice to Sheshan International, and twice left as the runner-up. And despite leading going into the weekend, he realizes there is a lot of work left.

Watney felt as though he missed every putt that he had made the day before, yet his closing birdies put him in a share of the lead. As he finished, the world’s top two players were starting to make their moves.

"I knew from the start they were in the field, so it’s no surprise they’re playing well," Watney said. "Whatever the lead is at, that’s not going to win the golf tournament. I need to go out and keep playing well and keep making birdies to have any shot."

Mickelson is part of a crowd at 9-under 135. He is joined by Alvaro Quiros, the Spaniard reputed to be golf’s biggest hitter who shot a 66; and Ryan Moore, who made an 8-foot eagle on the 18th and finished his round at No. 9 by chipping in for birdie.

"If I have to be honest, I don’t see my name for a long time on the leaderboard — all were Americans," Quiros said. "It was strange. Of course, it is exciting for me."

Another shot behind is Anthony Kim, who saved his aggressiveness for the 18th hole by hitting a 5-wood to 4 feet for eagle. Pat Perez had a chance to post the only bogey-free round of the tournament until he missed an 8-foot par putt on his final hole for a 69, leaving him three shots off the lead.

Perez has been around long enough to understand that Woods commands the largest gallery, but he didn’t realize what kind of magnet the world’s No. 1 player was in China until he looked around and saw two spectators. He didn’t say whether that included his wife.

"It made me realize I’m actually a nobody," Perez said. "I thought I was somebody, but this confirms it. In worldwide golf, I’m a nobody."

He has a chance to make a name for himself this weekend, as do others.

LPGA

Brittany Lang shoots 66 for Mizuno Classic lead

SHIMA, Japan — American Brittany Lang shot a 6-under 66 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over Japan’s Nobuko Kizawa and South Korea’s Hee Young Park after the first round of the Mizuno Classic.

"I’ve had a very good year," Lang said. "I’ve played a lot of really good golf. I always play well this time of the year for some reason, so I just try to practice and have some fun."

Lang, the long-hitting former Duke star who is winless in four seasons on the LPGA Tour, reached 7 under at Kintetsu Kashikojima with an eagle on the par-5 seventh, but bogeyed the eighth and finished the round with a par.

"I had an impression that the greens were fast," she Park, who birdied the last two holes to set up the tie for second. "But the greens were in great shape and I think it was in a good condition for the players to play."

Vicky Hurst, 2007 winner Momoko Ueda, Bo Bae Song and Mi-Jeong Jeon opened with 68s, and defending champion Jiyai Shin and Japanese star Ai Miyazato topped a group at 69.

Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa had a 71 in the event co-sanctioned by the Japan LPGA.

"It was a slow start," said Ochoa. "I didn’t make a birdie until the eighth hole. When you just have two birdies, that’s not enough. I think I need to strike my iron shots to be a little bit closer tomorrow, and hopefully I will have a better day tomorrow."

Joh wins Futures Tour’s qualifying tournament

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Former UCLA star Tiffany Joh won the Duramed Futures Tour’s qualifying tournament Friday, closing with a 1-over 73 in windy conditions for a one-stroke victory over Canadian Danielle Mills.

The 22-year-old Joh, a two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion, had a 12-under 348 total in the 90-hole event. Mills, also 22, finished with a 74 on the Lake Region Yacht and Country Club course. Ridgewood Lakes, Huntington Hills and The Golf Club at Bridgewater also were used during the first four rounds.

Exempt and non-exempt status will be determined following the LPGA Tour qualifying tournament in December. Players who have earned Category 11 LPGA Tour membership are not eligible to play the Futures Tour in 2010.

The wind made club selection difficult on the lakeside course.

"It was like being a bomb technician out there," said Joh, who also will play in the LPGA Tour qualifying tournament. "Sometimes it was like, ‘Red wire or blue wire?’ That’s what it felt like picking a club today, but you just had to make a choice and commit to hitting that club. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t."

Mills, from Pointe-Claire, Quebec, graduated from Elon University in North Carolian this year. She’s a two-time Quebec Provincial Match-Play champion.

"I’m very happy with my week and it’s been a big surprise because I’ve never put together five solid rounds before, with four rounds under par," Mills said. "This week just confirmed that I’m ready to play out here. This is a great place to prepare for the big league."