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Golf: Niemann, Stanley lead as Woods climbs Memorial leaderboard

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/06/02/tiger-woods.jpg"/><figcaption>Tiger Woods tees off on the fourteenth hole during the first round of The Memorial golf tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters</figcaption></figure></div>Tiger Woods ignited the crowd with a sensational hole out for eagle, but a storm delay dampened his charge at the Memorial where he was six shots behind halfway leaders Joaquin Niemann and Kyle Stanley.Woods, a three-time champion at Muirfield Village, bounced back after three-putting his opening hole.He birdied four holes from the third through the ninth to make the turn at three-under for the tournament.With 97 yards to the flagstick at the par-five 11th, Woods landed his wedge shot some six feet behind the flag, fans roaring their delight when his ball spun back into the hole for an eagle.&quot;I had 97 yards and normally it is a 60-degree sand-wedge for me but it was perfect with the slope there behind the flag so I took off about 15 yards on a 56 and I hit a little dead one in there,&quot; Woods said. &quot;It just worked out perfectly.&quot;The noise was so loud that many of Woods fellow competitors, including World No. 1 Justin Thomas, simply stopped play.A surging Woods then hit the flagstick at the par-three 12th, but moments later play was suspended due to the threat of thunderstorms.The former world number one resumed play staring at a six-foot birdie putt and with an expectant crowd awaiting his move to six-under he failed to hit the hole and walked off with a par.It was the first of three birdie putts Woods faced over his closing seven holes. He rolled in just one -- a 12-footer for birdie at the par-five 14th -- and he also dropped a shot after missing the green at the 17th and signed for a five-under 67.<div>Could have been a 62?</div>&quot;I did not putt well today. It could have been easily a nice little 62 or 63,&quot; said Woods who finished the day with a five-under total of 139. &quot;I turned it into a 67.&quot;After the miss on 12, Woods said, &quot;I missed everything.&quot;Woods admitted that the first weather delay he&#x27;s faced in his comeback from injury this season had him a little worried about how his surgically repaired back would respond.&quot;I was hoping the delay wouldn&#x27;t be that long,&quot; he said. &quot;I really didn&#x27;t sit down as I was walking back and forth to keep it loose and keep myself warm because these are the things I don’t know yet.&quot;There were no such worries for 19-year-old Chilean Niemann, who closed with a birdie in a 68 to join Stanley on 11-under par 133.Stanley had eight birdies in his six-under par 66 and he and Niemann were two strokes in front of South Korea&#x27;s An Byeong-hun, who signed for a 67 for 135.Japan&#x27;s world number 10 Hideki Matsuyama and former world number one Jason Day were among a group of five players on 136.Australia&#x27;s Day, an Ohio resident and Muirfield member who has never found much success in the Memorial, carded a 68 and Matsuyama posted a 71. They were joined at eight-under by Americans Wesley Bryan, JB Holmes and Bryson DeChambeau.Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy faced an anxious wait after his second-round 70 but made the cut on the number at even par.Jordan Spieth was less fortunate, missing the cut with scores of 75-72 in his final tuneup for the US Open that starts June 14 at Shinnecock Hills.

Tiger Woods ignited the crowd with a sensational hole out for eagle, but a storm delay dampened his charge at the Memorial where he was six shots behind halfway leaders Joaquin Niemann and Kyle Stanley.

Tiger Woods ignited the crowd with a sensational hole out for eagle, but a storm delay dampened his charge at the Memorial where he was six shots behind halfway leaders Joaquin Niemann and Kyle Stanley.