Friday, June 22, 2001
Rain halts Woods' effort to
start getting back on track
By JOEL STASHENKO
Associated Press Writer
HARRISON, N.Y. (AP) — Rain got the
best of Tiger Woods on Thursday in the Buick Classic, limiting
him to only two shots on the waterlogged Westchester Country Club
course.
Woods, coming off a disappointing 12th-place
finish in the U.S. Open, came up short on the par-3 first hole,
chipped within a few feet of the cup and marked his ball as the
first of a series of downpours halted play.
Despite several false starts, Woods and
the other players on the course Thursday afternoon did not play
again. One last heavy shower at 6:30 p.m. convinced tour officials
to finish the first round Friday morning. More rain is forecast
for Friday and Saturday.
Scott Hoch, who finished 16 holes, was the
leader at 4 under. Gabriel Hjertstedt, who also finished 16 holes,
was at 3 under with Mark Wiebe, who played 15 holes, and Brian
Watts, who played 14.
Six players were at 2 under, including three
— Brad Faxon, Justin Leonard and Corey Pavin — who were
among the 37 golfers who finished their rounds.
Fifty-seven players didn't get on the course.
They included David Duval, the runner-up to Dennis Paulson in
last year's tournament, Vijay Singh, Paul Azinger, Fred Couples,
Nick Faldo and Ben Crenshaw.
Hoch said he made some good early saves
in a five-birdie round. His lone bogey came on No. 4, his 13th
hole of the day, when he three-putted from the fringe. He was
on the eighth green in regulation and had only the easy par-5
ninth hole to play to complete his round.
“I was hoping we'd finish up,”
he said.
The start-and-stop nature of play during
rainy weather can tax golfers, Hoch said.
“Mentally, you've got to be prepared
to play, and that might be tougher than the part about loosening
up,” Hoch said. “The way this tournament is going to
be, there's probably going to be a number of stoppages during
this week. It's just as important to be sharp mentally as it is
to be loose.”
Leonard said he is far more rested for the
Buick Classic than he would be during a normal week because he
missed the cut at the U.S. Open.
“I got to go home Saturday and hang
out by the pool and work out for a couple of days,” he said.
“So you know, I am more rested now than I was going into
last week.”
Divots:
Ernie Els, winner of the Buick Classic in 1996 and 1997, withdrew.
He said he hurt his lower back working out Tuesday and needs to
rest. He planned to be back for the European tour's Scottish Open
the first week of July. ... Tournament director Andrew Mele said
the round was called when officials decided four holes were too
wet to play, including the low-lying par-4 11th.
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