Holder Tiger Woods, striving to land his first major of the
season, fell victim to gusting winds in the US PGA Championship
first round on Thursday.
The three-times winner briefly held a share of the lead after
making a fast start in stifling heat before dropping four shots on
his homeward nine to shoot a one-over-par 71.
"I felt like I hit the ball better than my score indicates,"
Woods told reporters after finishing four behind early leader John
Daly at Southern Hills Country Club. "That's a good sign heading
into the next three days.
Tiger Woods hits out of the
short rough on the second fairway during the first round of the
89th PGA Golf Championship at the Southern Hills Country Club in
Tulsa, Okla., Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007. [AP]
"On the back nine I missed a couple of shots and also the wind
was a little hard to gauge. It was swirling all over the place and
cost me definitely one shot for sure.
"Good shots didn't always end up where we thought they
would."
The favorite for the year's final major after cruising to an
eight-shot victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday,
Woods charged into a tie for the lead with three birdies in the
first six holes.
He coolly rolled in a 10-footer to birdie his opening hole, the
par-four 10th, picked up another shot at the par-five 13th after
reaching the green in two and also birdied the 15th.
SALVAGED PAR
After doing well to salvage par at the 16th and 17th, he bogeyed
the par-four 18th after finding a greenside bunker with his
approach.
The 12-times major champion then dropped four more shots after
the turn, along with a solitary birdie at the par-five fifth.
Woods has completed only three seasons without a grand slam
title since turning professional in late 1996.
He went empty-handed in 1998 after embarking on the first swing
change of his career and failed to claim a major in 2003 and 2004
while going through a second swing overhaul.
The American also faced a fruitless major season in 1999 before
clinching his first PGA Championship crown at Medinah.
Woods, who won last year's edition at Medinah by five shots, was
not surprised to see Daly's name at the top of the leaderboard.
"We all know JD is extremely talented and, once he gets going,
he gets going," the world number one said.
"He plays very aggressively and, as we all know, he can shoot
good numbers."
(China Daily via Reuters August 10, 2007)
