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Saturday August 15, 2009

Fiery Woods moves into PGA lead with sizzling start

TIGER Woods seized the first-round lead at the 91st PGA Championship on Thursday, using deadly driving accuracy and sharp putting for his best major round since returning from knee surgery.

Woods fired a five-under 67 to grab a one-stroke edge over defending champion and playing partner Padraig Harrington of Ireland after 18 holes and humble 7,674-yard Hazeltine, the longest course in major golf history.

“I’m very comfortable with how I’m playing,” Woods said. “I hit the ball well pretty much all day. I hit a lot of good putts. They were hitting the edge and staying out. This round could have been a really low number.”

Woods hit 12 of 14 fairways to equal his best PGA Championship performance and sank five birdies in a bogey-free round on a course where he settled for second in the 2002 PGA Championship despite birdies on the last four holes.

Blast off: Tiger Woods grimaces as he tees off on the 13th hole during the first round of the PGA Championship in Minnesota on Thursday. — AP

Woods, who missed the cut at last month’s British Open and shared sixth at the Masters and US Open, has won five times since returning from knee surgery in February, including tuneup events the past two weeks.

But this will be the first year since 2004 without a major title for Woods if he fails to lift the Wanamaker Trophy tomorrow.

“I’ve got to keep plodding along. I just have to be consistent,” Woods said. “There are times I’ve got it together and had some comfortable margins of victory. When I put it together, I don’t make many mistakes.”

World number one Woods, seeking a 15th major title to move three shy of the career record set by Jack Nicklaus, also could match Nicklaus and Walter Hagen for the all-time record for PGA Championship crowns with his fifth.

Harrington’s 68 was one stroke ahead of Australians Robert Allenby and Mathew Goggin, Americans Hunter Mahan and David Toms, Spain’s Alvaro Quiros and Fiji’s Vijay Singh.

Vijay, a two-time PGA Championship winner, matched Toms as low man in the afternoon, when winds and harder greens made scoring more difficult.

World number two Phil Mickelson, in his first major since his wife and mother began breast cancer treatments, fired a 74.

Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee recovered from back-to-back bogeys to end the front nine by starting the back side with three birdies in a row, then added another birdie at the par-5 15th to finish with an opening round 70.

“I played very well, very good comeback on the back nine,” Thongchai said.

Also in the group at 70 was England’s Lee Westwood, who was third at last month’s British Open and last year’s US Open.

Spain’s Sergio Garcia, seeking his first major title, was on 71. — AFP

(USA unless stated)

67: Tiger Woods; 68: Padraig Harrington (Irl); 69: Robert Allenby, Mathew Goggin (Aus), Hunter Mahan, Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Vijay Singh (Fij), David Toms; 70: Paul Goydos, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Graeme McDowell (Nir), Michael Bradley, Lee Westwood (Eng), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Ben Crane: 71: Hiroyuki Fujita (Jpn), Rich Beem, Bo Van Pelt, Rory McIlroy (Nir), Sergio Garcia (Spa), Anders Hansen (Den), Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Brendan Jones (Aus), Lucas Glover, Luke Donald (Eng);

72: DJ Trahan, Keith Dicciani, Carl Pettersson (Swe), Charlie Wi (Kor), Scott Hebert, Nathan Green (Aus), Dustin Johnson, Mike Miles, Soren Hansen (Den), Tom Lehman, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), John Merrick, Ian Poulter, Bob Tway, JJ Henry, Jeff Overton, Thomas Levet (Fra); 73: John Mallinger, Ross Fisher (Eng), Richard Sterne (Rsa), Michael Sim (Aus), Jim Furyk, Martin Kaymer (Ger), Henrik Stenson (Swe), Camilo Villegas (Col), Justin Rose (Eng), Grant Sturgeon, Woody Austin, Anthony Kim, John Rollins, Ken Duke, Kevin Sutherland, John Senden (Aus), Kevin Na, Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard, KJ Choi (Kor), Marc Turnesa, Alastair Forsyth (Sco), Corey Pavin, Ben Curtis, YE Yang (Kor);

74: Rod Pampling (Aus), Pat Perez, Chris Wood (Eng), Chad Campbell, Peter Hanson (Swe), Mark Brooks, Sean O’Hair, Kenny Perry, Stuart Appleby (Aus), Rory Sabbatini (Rsa), Fred Couples, Mike Weir (Can), Zach Johnson, Boo Weekley, Francesco Molinari (Ita), Ryuji Imada (Jpn), Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn), Bubba Watson, Steve Stricker, Oliver Wilson (Eng), Michael Allen, Paul Azinger, Phil Mickelson, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Stephen Ames (Can), Bob Estes, Steve Flesch;

75: Craig Thomas, Richard Green (Aus), Shingo Katayama (Jpn), Nick Watney, David Smail (Nzl), Todd Lancaster, Brandt Snedeker, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Steve Elkington (Aus), Ernie Els (Rsa), Greg Bisconti, Colin Montgomerie, Andres Romero, Ryan Palmer, Scott McCarron; 76: Briny Baird, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Tim Petrovic, JB Holmes, Shaun Micheel, Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Kevin Streelman, Davis Love, Tim Weinhart, Brian Davis (Eng), Mark Sheftic, Steve Marino, Angel Cabrera (Arg), Tim Clark (Rsa), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Charley Hoffman, Steve Webster (Eng); 77: Scott Verplank, Matt Kuchar, Charles Howell, Retief Goosen (Rsa), Jerry Kelly, Johan Edfors (Swe), Mark Wilson, Chris Starkjohann;

78: Anthony Wall (Eng), Cameron Beckman, Mike Small, Brian Gay, Brett Quigley, Lee Rinker, Darren Clarke (Nir), John Daly, Eric Lippert; 79: Brian Gaffney, Jason Dufner; 80: Nick Dougherty (Eng), Michael Campbell (Nzl); 81: Bob Gaus, Ryan Benzel, Sam Arnold; 82: Adam Scott (Aus), Steve Schneiter; 84: Mitch Lowe, Will MacKenzie; 87: Kevin Roman.


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