A BRUIN LIKES HIS CHANCES CONFIDENT MCCARRON TRAILS TANIGUCHI BY A STROKE.Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer The wind got going in the afternoon Friday at Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a country club with a championship golf course. It is located in Pacific Palisades, California, within the city limits of Los Angeles, California. The country club opened in 1926, with George C. Thomas, Jr. as the course architect. . So did a pair of fast-charging challengers. Toru Taniguchi Toru Taniguchi (born 10 February 1968) is a Japanese golfer. Taniguchi was born in Nara. He has won 14 tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour (ranks tied 13th on the career victories list), topped the money list in 2002, and is eighth on the career money list. of Japan included five birdies in a round of 67 to pass first-round leader Jesper Parnevik Jesper Bo Parnevik (born March 7, 1965) is a Swedish professional golfer. He is the son of the Swedish entertainer Bo Parnevik. Parnevik was born in Stockholm, Sweden. and take what would prove to be a one-stroke lead in the Nissan Open The Northern Trust Open, formally known as the Nissan Open and originally known as the Los Angeles Open, is a regular golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in February in Pacific Palisades, California. . Then former UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX golfer Scott McCarron Scott Michael McCarron (born July 10 1965) is an American professional golfer. McCarron was born in Sacramento, California and graduated from Christian Brothers High School. He has had PGA Tour victories in 1996, 1997 and 2001. breezed home with a 65 that tied for the best round of the tournament and boosted McCarron from a share of 18th to one shot off the lead. ``This is a golf course that when I come here, I think I can win,'' McCarron said after a bogey-less round that included four birdies and an eagle. The effort left him tied with early starter Brad Faxon Bradford John Faxon, Jr. (born August 1 1961) is an American golfer. Faxon was born in Oceanport, New Jersey. He attended Furman University and turned professional in 1983. He has won eight times on the PGA Tour and played on two Ryder Cup teams. (67), Parnevik (69), and rallying Len Mattiace, who also shot 65 after a first-round 69. All shared 134, a shot ahead of Bob Tway (68) at 135. David Duval (69), David Peoples (70), Tommy Armour III Thomas Dickson "Tommy" Armour III (born October 8, 1959) is a professional golfer on the PGA Tour. He first joined the PGA Tour in 1981 at the age of 21. He is considered to be a great ball striker, and much of his success depends on how well he putts. (69) and J.J. Henry (67) were next, in a four-way tie for seventh at 136. ``I'm very happy and surprised to be in first,'' said Taniguchi, who celebrated his 34th birthday Sunday. He might be surprised, but Bob Estes, Vijay Singh, Stuart Appleby and countryman Shigeki Maruyama might not be so surprised. Taniguchi defeated all of them in last year's WGC-Accenture World Match Play Championship at Victoria, Australia, where he lost to eventual champion Steve Stricker in the semifinals. ``I'm trying to get to (the PGA (1) (Professional Graphics Adapter) An early IBM PC display standard for 3D processing with 640x480x256 resolution. It was not widely used. (2) (Programmable Gate Array) See gate array and FPGA. ) tour by playing well on sponsor exemptions,'' Taniguchi said. So far, so good. He rolled in birdie putts of 25, 3, 7 and 8 feet Friday, when he also had a tap-in birdie on No. 1. Faxon made the first move on first-round leader Parnevik, posting six birdies in a round that must have brought back memories of the 63 and the front-nine 28 he shot to set a PGA Championship record in the final round of the 1995 PGA Championship at Riviera. His closing burst earned him a berth on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. ``I played the best round of my life, ever, in the PGA,'' said Faxon, who wasn't too shabby Friday on a course Riviera veterans say is in its best shape in years. Faxon was one of the vocal fans. ``Beautiful greens,'' he said. ``Very firm. Good speed. A heck of a golf course. Tells you what to do. You get up to a hole and you see the shot.'' But ... ``Tough to get up and down here,'' he said. McCarron, who played the course a lot while attending UCLA, called the greens ``as good as I've ever seen here.'' He made the most of the opportunity and motivation. ``I played really good all day long and got hot with the putter on a few holes,'' said McCarron, whose best finish in this tournament came in 1997, when he played in the final group with eventual winner Nick Faldo. Riviera wasn't as kind to everyone who liked it, however. Corey Pavin, who won the Nissan Open in 1994 and '95, shot 71-74 - 145 on Thursday and Friday and failed to make the cut of even-par 142. Fred Couples, another two-time winner of this event, was more fortunate, finishing 140 after a Friday round of 68. Other cut casualties included Steve Elkington, who set a record of 17 under par in winning the 1995 PGA championship at Riviera but could do no better than 1 over par in rounds of 73 and 70 this week. Australian countryman Robert Allenby, the defending champion who won in a playoff in a rainstorm last year, showed he can sparkle in the sunshine, as well, shooting 66 Friday to get himself into the weekend. From the FRINGE HOLE OF THE DAY No. 10, 315 yards, par 4 UCLA alumnus ALUMNUS, civil law. A child which one has nursed; a foster child. Dig. 40, 2, 14. Scott McCarron eagled here Friday to highlight his jump from 18th place to second, enhancing the risk-reward reputation of a hole 1988 PGA champion Jeff Sluman calls one of the best short par-4s in golf: ``No water, no out-oounds and you can make 5 or 6 there in a heartbeat immediately. See also: heartbeat .'' Tim Herron might agree with that assessment after shooting 7 here Thursday. DUFFER OF THE DAY Spike McRoy had a triple-bogey 7 in a second-round 78 that left him seven strokes over the cut mark after opening with a par 71. QUOTE OF THE DAY ``This is a golf course that when I come here, I think I can win.'' - Scott McCarron, after shooting 6-under-par 65 to equal the best round of the week at Riviera Country Club. INSIDE THE ROPES Paul Azinger, Charles Howell III Charles Gordon Howell III (born June 20, 1979) is an American golfer. Howell was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, the home town of the Masters Tournament. He was a member of Augusta Country Club, which is adjacent to Amen Corner at Augusta National Golf Club. and David Duval kept streaks alive for consecutive cuts made as all secured weekend playing privileges. Azinger and Howell have made 21 cuts in a row and Duval 19. All are well behind the tour-leading streak of 81 held by Tiger Woods, who is not playing this week. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, 2 boxes Photo: (1) Toru Taniguchi of Japan, second-round leader in the Nissan Open, follows through on one of his shots. (2) Jesper Parnevik sighs after a missed chip goes off the mark on the 18th green Friday at the Nissan Open. David Sprague/Staff Photographer (3) no caption (Scott McCarron) Box: (1) From the FRINGE (see text) (2) LEADERBOARD lead·er·board n. A board that displays the leaders in a competition. leaderboard Noun a board displaying the current scores of the leading competitors, esp in a golf tournament |
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