Tiger Woods roars back on Day 2 of the US Open

Thomas Rooney - Saturday 14.06.08, 09:38am
You just can’t keep him out of the action for long can you? Tiger Woods was written off at the end of day one, with many people believing that a knee injury was enough to end his challenge for this year. Think again. The world number one went through the pain barrier to record a fantastic back nine of 30, moving one shot away from leader Stuart Appleby.
Tiger Woods would have been joint leader overnight, but Appleby birdied the 18th with a huge putt to secure a solid round of 70. Other players in amongst the leaders include Rocco Mediate, Robert Karlsson and Britain’s very own – Mr Lee Westwood. The 35-year-old is certainly flying the flag as far as Britain is concerned, joining Karlsson and Mediate on one under par at the end of day two.
In terms of the other British players, Luke Donald is still in with a shout on level par and after briefly holding the lead, Owen Wilson has an outside chance as he joins a group of players on one over par – just four shots off the lead.
It was a day to forget for Ian Poulter though – he didn’t even make it past the 15th hole. The man famous for his ‘unique’ fashion sense was forced to withdraw with a wrist injury after recording a double-bogey on both the 14th and 15th hole. Justin Rose hasn’t exactly had a memorable couple of days either. After finishing a respectable 10th last year, the Englishman failed to make the cut, as did European favourite Colin Montgomerie.
There is no doubting that all the attention is on Tiger Woods though as we approach day three of the US Open. Even an injury can stop a man, who is arguably one of the greatest sportsmen of all time. He was visibly in pain throughout, but managed to birdie four holes out of five in the back nine. This was in response to a fairly horrific start to the day when he hit to bogeys in his first three holes. Most players wouldn’t have recovered, but as we know – Tiger is no normal golfer.
In terms of US Open betting, how can anyone look beyond the American now? Everyone around him will be wary of the threat he provides and I expect him to be leading the tournament by the end of day three.