There they go… chasing Tiger

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This article was published 14/08/2009 (6201 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CHASKA, Minn. — The first round of the 91st PGA Championship ended with 155 of the world’s best golfers doing what they did last week in Ohio, the week before in Michigan and all over the world for most of the past 13 seasons.

They’re… Chasing Tiger.

Tiger Woods shot a bogey-free, 5-under-par 67 while hitting 12 of 14 fairways, 15 greens and taking just 29 putts at a fairly soft and vulnerable Hazeltine National course that surrendered 26 subpar rounds on Thursday.

"It never even looked like he was going to come close to making a bogey," said Rich Beem, one of Woods’ playing partners and the 2002 PGA Championship winner at Hazeltine. "It looked easy for him."

Padraig Harrington, who also played with Woods four days after losing to him in a final-round duel at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, is one behind at 68. Six players are two back at 3-under 69, including major winners David Toms and Vijay Singh, and Robert Allenby, who tied for second behind Woods last week.

"If he wins, he wins; fantastic," Allenby said. "He’s the best in the world. But there’s a long way to go, and there’s a lot of good golfers behind him."

Woods rebounded from missing the cut at last month’s British Open by breaking 70 in the first round of a major for the first time since the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie. It also gave him his seventh first-round lead in a major.

And, by the way, he’s won four of the first six.

"It was," said Woods, "a really good round today."

Woods birdied three of the four par-5s. He sank a 30-foot putt on No. 3, two-putted from 30 feet on No. 7 and tapped in for birdie at No. 15, which was playing 651 yards, 9 longer than its listed length. Woods also made 20-foot birdie putts at No. 2 and No. 12.

The only time he came close to a bogey was when he made a 10-foot par putt on the 18th hole, his ninth hole of the day. He missed birdie putts on his last two holes, saying afterward that "it could have been a really good round out there today."

Woods played during the more favourable scoring conditions in the morning shift. The wind picked up and the greens got bumpier as the day wore on. Today, the weather is supposed to take a turn for the worse with 33 C heat and winds of 25-40 kilometres per hour with gusts up to 50.

"This course is tough enough on its own," Allenby said. "If we get 30-mph wind, it will get pretty tricky around here."

Not exactly good Tiger Chasing weather.

Harrington, who until last week didn’t have a top-10 finish since winning last year’s PGA Championship, said he relishes the opportunity to play with Woods, even if it means having to chase him.

"I think it pushes you; you have to go to a new level," Harrington said. "That’s what I like. There’s no point in being cautious or playing safe. You have to go for it, and Tiger brings that out."

While Harrington said Woods’ name on the leaderboard changes his attitude, others say they don’t let it affect them.

"Obviously, he’s the best player in the world, so you expect to see his name up there," said Matthew Goggin, one of the players who shot 69. "But you can’t change things. We’ve got a long way to go."

Rory McIlroy, the 20-year-old from Northern Ireland making his PGA Championship debut, shot 71 and said that despite popular belief, Woods does have rivals.

"I think Jack (Nicklaus) had a few rivals whenever he was playing," McIlroy said. "I think Tiger’s got a lot of rivals out here. He’s got Phil (Mickelson), he’s got Ernie (Els), Padraig. There’s a lot of guys out here that can hang with him when they are playing their best. I’m just going to keep as close to him as possible and see what happens."

Woods is going for his 15th major title while he avoids going winless in the season’s four majors for the first time since 2004. A victory Sunday also would give him a fifth PGA Championship victory, tying him for the record held by Walter Hagen and Nicklaus.

Despite missing the cut at the British Open, Woods was the heavy pre-tournament favorite. For the first time in his career, he played two consecutive weeks before a major — and won both times. Asked about the risk of being tired this week, Woods smiled.

"I had that nice little rest there (on the weekend) at the British Open," he said. "That’s what got me. I have plenty of energy… I felt very comfortable out there today."

If he wins, Woods will move within three majors of Nicklaus’ record of 18. And, yes, the legend will have grown a bit more. But, for now at least, the rest of the field hasn’t given up.

"You know, he is human," Allenby said. "And the golf course is in front of us. A lot can still happen."

 

— Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Leaderboard

Tiger Woods 33-34 — 67

Padraig Harrington 34-34 — 68

Robert Allenby 33-36 — 69

Mathew Goggin 34-35 — 69

Hunter Mahan 34-35 — 69

Alvaro Quiros 36-33 — 69

Vijay Singh 34-35 — 69

David Toms 34-35 — 69

Paul Goydos 34-36 — 70

Thongchai Jaidee 38-32 — 70

Graeme McDowell 35-35 — 70

Lee Westwood 34-36 — 70

Michael Bradley 32-38 — 70

Soren Kjeldsen 36-34 — 70

Ben Crane 36-34 — 70

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTABLES

Rory McIlroy 37-34 — 71

Sergio Garcia 36-35 — 71

Rich Beem 37-34 — 71

Geoff Ogilvy 36-35 — 71

Lucas Glover 36-35 — 71

Bob Tway 35-37 — 72

Jim Furyk 36-37 — 73

Henrik Stenson 37-36 — 73

Camilo Villegas 38-35 — 73

Justin Leonard 38-35 — 73

Kenny Perry 36-38 — 74

Fred Couples 38-36 — 74

Mike Weir 36-38 — 74

Zach Johnson 37-37 — 74

Stephen Ames 37-37 — 74

Phil Mickelson 37-37 — 74