BETHESDA, Md. -- Tiger Woods was a much more gracious host
than he had planned at the inaugural AT&T National.
By the time his round was over Thursday, he had missed a 2-foot
tap-in, hit a man in the face with a drive and tossed his putter in
frustration at his bag several times.
His scorecard included seven bogeys in a 3-over round of 73,
tied for 77th place and seven shots behind five co-leaders: Vijay
Singh, Jim Furyk, K.J. Choi, Joe Ogilvie and Stuart Appleby.
Woods putted 34 times, including three three-putts, and he
missed every attempt longer than 8 feet.
"It's one of the worst putting rounds I have had in years,"
Woods said. "I'm going to have to figure out something for
(Friday) because evidently what I'm doing is not even close to
being right. I've got to fix it. I've got to get back in this
tournament."
Meanwhile, 28 players were under par on 7,204-yard, par-70
course that was expected to be a tough test with its high rough and
long par 4s.
The leaderboard is an eclectic mix of styles, ranging from the
long-hitting Singh to older, lay-up players such as 51-year-old
Fred Funk and 47-year-old Corey Pavin, who are both one stroke off
the lead. In the star partnership of Phil Mickelson (74) and Adam
Scott (72), Brad Faxon outshone them both as the third member of
the threesome, beating might with accuracy with a steady 69, even
as his partners consistently out-drove him.<
^U.S. Senior Open=
HAVEN, Wis. -- Less than a month after Angel Cabrera became
the first Argentine to win the U.S. Open, Eduardo Romero shot a
six-under-par 66 and held the first-round lead when play was
suspended because of weather at Whistling Straits.
"After the win by Angel Cabrera, he said to me, 'If you go
there, try to win the tournament, because two U.S. Opens in one
month is fantastic," Romero said. "And I said, 'Angel, I know
it's hard, but I'll try my best."
So, did he plan on getting in touch with his pal to share the
good news?
"Yeah, in five minutes!" said Romero, the Champions Tour
rookie of the year last year who won the Jeld-Wen Tradition, which
is considered a senior major.
Cabrera was a 10-year-old caddie when Romero's father, a club
pro in Argentina, proclaimed that the boy had the potential to play
professionally. Romero later reached into his own pockets to
sponsor Cabrera on the European Tour.
Romero's low score tied him for the fourth-best opening round in
U.S. Senior Open history. And as if that wasn't enough of an
indication that this is shaping up to be a banner summer for
Argentine golf, fellow countryman Vicente Fernandez shot a 69 and
is tied for second with a pair of club professionals, Jon Fiedler
of Camarillo, Calif. and Ron Vlosich of Lakewood, Colo.
Gil Morgan, Loren Roberts, Bruce Vaughan and Jim Woodward, were
out on the course at 3-under when play was halted because of
threatening weather at 5:05 p.m. CDT. Amid thunderstorms and high
winds, play was called for the day at 6:15 p.m.
The 78 players who were unable to finish the first round will
resume play at 7 a.m. Friday.<
^European Open=
STRAFFAN, Ireland -- Maarten Lafeber of the Netherlands shot
a 6-under-par 64 in persistent rain over a shortened course to take
a one-stroke lead after the first round.
Niclas Fasth, Jyoti Randhawa, Robert Rock and Gregory Havret
were at 65 at the K Club on a layout reduced by 653 yards because
of heavy rain all week. Graeme McDowell even found a frog on the
line of his putt on the last green.
Former U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell shot a 68 and Colin
Montgomerie was at 69. Angel Cabrera, in his first round since he
won the U.S. Open last month, had a 71, as did tournament favorite
Padraig Harrington.
The 18th hole was cut from a par-5 of 578 yards to a par-3 of
162 yards. Six other holes were reduced to create a par 70 instead
of 72.