ROCHESTER, N.Y. - After winning last year's British Open and capturing the first two events of the 2003 season, Ernie Els has been almost an afterthought at the major championships.
The South African star has not been in contention on Sunday at any Grand Slam event.
Perhaps that will change this weekend at the PGA Championship. Els shot par 70 on Friday at Oak Hill Country Club despite double bogey at No.9, his last hole. That left him at 141, 1-over par, and four shots behind leader Shaun Micheel.
"I am not in too bad of a position," Els said. "I really wanted to get to red (under par) numbers by the end of the day, and I almost did that. I am not going to be too far away. I have two rounds to go and I am here for the weekend. I have a chance."
Els opened the Masters with 79 but rebounded to tie for sixth. At the U.S. Open, he could never make a move on the weekend but tied for fifth. In his British Open defense, Els opened with 78, bounced back with 68 but tied for 18th. His best finish at the PGA is a tie for third in 1995 at Riviera.
IN THE DARK: Many players had to make do in the dark Thursday after much of the Northeast suffered through a power outage. Billy Andrade was one of them. His hotel was without electricity.
"They had flashlights for everybody," Andrade said. "You couldn't even see the hotel when you were coming off the road, it was so dark. It was kind of cool. Everybody was just kind of camping out. The bar was open so some guys were having a good time.
"When it's dark and you're alone, all you could do is go to sleep, so that's what I did."
TARDY: Australia's Aaron Baddeley did not have the best start to his day. One of just 12 players who began the second round under par, Baddeley went over par when he received a two-stroke penalty because he arrived for his 7:30 a.m. tee time 40 seconds late. Although Baddeley's name had not been called, the penalty was assessed because he was not at the tee for his designated time. Baddeley, starting on No.10, parred the hole, but added two strokes for a double-bogey 6.
He finished with 77, including the two-stroke penalty, and said he was late because he subtracted five hours from his Thursday tee time (12:35), assumed his time was 7:35 a.m. and didn't look at the pairing sheet.
"I was warmed up and everything. I just thought it was a 7:35 tee time," Baddeley said. "I was a little annoyed walking down the first. The past is past, and you can't change that."
