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Published: Friday May 1, 2009 MYT 9:48:00 AM
Updated: Friday May 1, 2009 MYT 10:10:30 AM

Tiger Woods jumps out to the lead at Quail Hollow

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: Tiger Woods matched the course record with a 30 on the front nine which he closed with three straight birdies to finish off a 7-under 65 at the Quail Hollow Championship on Thursday.

Phil Mickelson followed in the afternoon by chipping in for eagle and making a remarkable par save from under a video board for a 5-under 67 that put him in a tie for second.

They did not play together, as was the case three weeks ago in an electric final-round pairing at the Masters. But on a warm and breezy afternoon in Carolina, it seemed as though they were never far apart.

A few fans taunted Woods early in his round, calling out, "Let's go, Phil!" as he walked by.

Mickelson couldn't escape a familiar name even as he lumbered to the finish, as fans called out, "You're only two shots behind Tiger!"

"It's only one round," Mickelson said.

"There's a lot of golf left."

Even so, the Quail Hollow Championship served up quite an appetizer on a course that even was reminiscent of Augusta National with virtually no rough and slick greens.

The emphasis was not accuracy off the tee as much as wizardry with the short game, and both players were up to the task.

Woods was plodding along the back nine, failing to birdie either of the par 5s, until he ran off six birdies and two splendid par saves on the front nine.

After twice putting himself in tough positions, he hit a low pitch out of a swale on the second hole to a foot, then hit another wedge that stopped a few inches next to the cup on the fourth.

"I hit a couple of loose shots here and there, but I really putted well," Woods said.

"I had a couple of key saves - made a nice little up-and-down at 2 and just a really good save at 4 that kept the round going. It's always nice when you birdie the last three."

For Mickelson, it was sweet to finish with a par.

From a fairway bunker on the par-4 18th, he wanted to lay up short of the green but pulled his shot while trying to avoid a creek that runs down the left side.

The ball went under a large video board, and Mickelson took his free drop on a slope of grass above the cart path.

Then came a wedge that spun just enough to stop 2 feet away.

"It's nice to finish with a par," he said.

"I ended up playing a good round."

Steve Marino, who gave himself a chance at winning last week in New Orleans, and Robert Allenby also opened with a 67.

The group another shot back included two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, Hunter Mahan, Jeff Maggert and Lucas Glover.

Masters champion Angel Cabrera opened with a 70, along with defending champion Anthony Kim.

More than half of the 156-man field shot par or better at Quail Hollow, a course given a new look for this tournament.

Instead of deep rough, there's a uniform cut of 2 inches (5 centimeters) that allowed players a chance to attack the greens.

Trouble was, the greens were firm and fast, making it difficult and at times dangerous to get it close to the hole.

"It's playable," Woods said.

"The only thing is, it'll bait you into being more aggressive into some of these flags. You've just got to be careful on that."

Mickelson called it the best setup he has ever seen, no surprise coming from a guy who tends to spend a lot of time off the fairway.

"I think the fans are enjoying the recovery shot, which is the most exciting shot in golf," Mickelson said.

"We're having a bunch of recovery shots - at least I am - from the trees and so forth. I think that makes for exciting golf."

Mickelson picked up a routine two-putt birdie on the fifth, then a deft chip from just short of the seventh green fell for eagle.

But his momentum slowed, and he finished with seven straight pars.

Woods, who finished one shot behind Mickelson at Augusta, became the fifth player to shoot 30 on the front nine at Quail Hollow.

He'd not been leading after a round since the Saturday at the U.S. Open last summer.

It got at least one player's attention.

"If you want to win, you've got to be on top when it's done," Glover said.

"And it just got a lot harder since he decided to play good on a Thursday." - AP

Scores Thursday from the Quail Hollow Championship, a $6.5 million US PGA Tour event at par-72, 7,442-yard Quail Hollow Club:

First Round=

Tiger Woods 30-35_65

Steve Marino 34-33_67

Phil Mickelson 32-35_67

Robert Allenby 33-34_67

Jason Dufner 31-36_67

Jeff Maggert 33-35_68

Retief Goosen 34-34_68

Hunter Mahan 34-34_68

Lucas Glover 34-34_68

Bo Van Pelt 33-36_69

Nick O'Hern 32-37_69

Steve Flesch 35-34_69

Jeff Klauk 34-35_69

Charles Warren 33-36_69

Sean O'Hair 33-36_69

Mark Calcavecchia 35-34_69

George McNeill 33-36_69

Bill Haas 34-35_69

Cliff Kresge 36-33_69

Ken Duke 35-35_70

Ben Crane 34-36_70

Jeff Overton 35-35_70

John Rollins 33-37_70

Angel Cabrera 36-34_70

Will MacKenzie 34-36_70

Rod Pampling 36-34_70

Nathan Green 33-37_70

Michael Allen 35-35_70

David Mathis 35-35_70

Brendon Todd 35-35_70

Jonathan Kaye 36-34_70

Robert Karlsson 33-37_70

John Merrick 34-36_70

Kevin Streelman 36-34_70

Davis Love III 35-35_70

Anthony Kim 34-36_70

Colt Knost 36-34_70

Zach Johnson 36-34_70

Brian Bateman 35-35_70

Ted Purdy 34-36_70

Gary Woodland 35-35_70

Steve Wheatcroft 33-37_70

Fredrik Jacobson 35-36_71

Bubba Watson 34-37_71

John Senden 35-36_71

Nick Watney 34-37_71

Geoff Ogilvy 35-36_71

Sergio Garcia 34-37_71

Charles Howell III 36-35_71

Jim Furyk 34-37_71

David Toms 36-35_71

Kevin Sutherland 33-38_71

Joe Ogilvie 35-36_71

Boo Weekley 35-36_71

Woody Austin 35-36_71

Eric Axley 34-37_71

Martin Kaymer 35-36_71

Aron Price 33-38_71

Danny Lee 35-36_71

Rich Beem 36-35_71

Nicholas Thompson 36-35_71

Camilo Villegas 34-37_71

Johnson Wagner 35-36_71

Tim Petrovic 37-34_71

Brett Quigley 36-35_71

Peter Lonard 36-35_71

Ian Poulter 34-37_71

Mathew Goggin 35-36_71

Jerry Kelly 35-37_72

Stewart Cink 38-34_72

Y.E. Yang 36-36_72

Jonathan Byrd 36-36_72

Matt Kuchar 34-38_72

Brian Davis 37-35_72

David Berganio, Jr. 36-36_72

Kent Jones 35-37_72

Rocco Mediate 37-35_72

Matt Bettencourt 38-34_72

Tom Pernice, Jr. 35-37_72

Chad Campbell 35-37_72

Chez Reavie 35-37_72

Jason Bohn 35-37_72

Bill Lunde 40-32_72

Brendon de Jonge 35-37_72

J.J. Henry 38-35_73

Tommy Armour III 36-37_73

Steve Lowery 37-36_73

Stuart Appleby 37-36_73

Andres Romero 37-36_73

Cameron Beckman 37-36_73

Scott Piercy 37-36_73

Vaughn Taylor 38-35_73

Chris Stroud 37-36_73

Marc Leishman 36-37_73

Ross Fisher 36-37_73

Ryan Moore 36-37_73

Greg Chalmers 37-36_73

Padraig Harrington 33-40_73

Paul Goydos 37-36_73

Parker McLachlin 37-36_73

Richard S. Johnson 37-36_73

Trevor Immelman 36-37_73

John Huston 36-37_73

Steve Elkington 38-35_73

James Nitties 36-37_73

Jeff Quinney 37-36_73

Jarrod Lyle 39-34_73

Robert Garrigus 37-37_74

Justin Rose 37-37_74

Martin Laird 36-38_74

J.B. Holmes 37-37_74

Chris DiMarco 36-38_74

K.J. Choi 38-36_74

Ben Curtis 37-37_74

Shaun Micheel 38-36_74

Derek Fathauer 37-37_74

Michael Letzig 36-38_74

Webb Simpson 35-39_74

D.A. Points 39-35_74

Troy Matteson 36-38_74

Rory Sabbatini 38-36_74

Pat Perez 37-37_74

Brad Faxon 37-37_74

Greg Kraft 35-39_74

Kirk Triplett 38-36_74

Harrison Frazar 34-40_74

Peter Tomasulo 36-38_74

Aaron Baddeley 36-39_75

Stephen Leaney 38-37_75

Jay Williamson 38-37_75

Jason Gore 38-37_75

D.J. Trahan 38-37_75

Ryuji Imada 35-40_75

Carl Pettersson 36-39_75

Notah Begay III 37-38_75

Aaron Watkins 38-37_75

Heath Slocum 40-36_76

Greg Owen 39-37_76

Roland Thatcher 39-37_76

David Duval 36-40_76

Vijay Singh 39-37_76

Glen Day 37-39_76

Jeev M. Singh 36-40_76

Curt Sanders 39-37_76

Dean Wilson 35-42_77

Adam Scott 39-38_77

Spencer Levin 38-39_77

Paul Claxton 41-36_77

Todd Hamilton 39-39_78

Billy Mayfair 43-35_78

Mark Wilson 38-40_78

Casey Wittenberg 41-37_78 - AP


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