Thursday, January
10, 2002
Woods, bedeviled
by greens, trails by six
By DENNIS PASSA
Associated Press Writer
PARAPARAUMU BEACH, New Zealand (AP) — So much for local knowledge.
When Tiger Woods agreed to come to the New Zealand Open, it was
partly as a favor to his caddie, Steve Williams, who grew up playing
on the Paraparaumu Beach links course where this year's tournament
is being played.
But Woods had trouble on the greens all through his first round
Thursday, shooting a 1-under-par 70 that left him six shots behind
leader Scott Gardiner, who eagled the 18th to cap a back-nine
30 and finish with a 64.
“I have the guy who's been around here most on my bag and
we're both trying to read them,” Woods said of the greens.
“They're a bit on the wavy side. You hit good putts and they
veer off at the end. It makes you a bit indecisive.
“I hit the ball well, I just didn't make any putts.”
Gardiner had a one-stroke lead over James McLean, a fellow Australian
who attended the University of Minnesota and is based in Minneapolis.
Two shots back of Gardiner were New Zealander Steve Alker and
Australian Brett Rumford, with Australians Craig Parry and Craig
Spence and New Zealanders Michael Campbell and Stephen Scahill
a further shot back with 67s.
Gardiner hit a 3-wood to the 18th green, leaving him a 50-foot
putt for his eagle.
“I just thought I'd pop it up close, and it went in,”
the Australian said. “I even surprised myself.”
Woods was tied with 13 others for 32nd place after the first round
on the 6,618-yard layout.
Defending champion David Smail of New Zealand, playing in Woods'
group, had a 2-over 73.
Jae An, the 13-year-old South Korean who qualified for the tournament
Monday, opened with an even-par 71.
The round began in sunny conditions with a light southerly breeze
after forecasters predicted rain and strong northerly wind.
Woods said he played conservatively.
“I feel I should have been a few shots lower but it's the
first day and you also don't want to shoot yourself out of the
tournament,” he said. “It's the kind of golf course
where if you get a little careless you can run up a score.”
His day got off to a bad start when he missed a 5-footer for birdie
on the 10th, his first hole. He birdied the par-5 12th and 18th,
to go with a three-putt bogey on the 17th.
On his front nine, he had seven tap-in putts.
The breeze picked up two holes later — as Woods said he hoped
it would — but his game didn't. He missed two fairways in
a row and on the fourth hole — his 13th — he hit 9-iron
out of the rough to just off the right fringe, chipped poorly
and lipped out a 7-foot par putt.
He did a half-twirl with his putter and pulled a new ball out
of his bag, hoping for better luck. He nearly went out of bounds
on his 15th hole and had to have a spectator locate his ball for
him.
He birdied his 16th from a foot, then parred the final two.
A large crowd and security force followed Woods around the course,
with no problems reported.
“They're great, just doing their job,” he said of the
police presence. “I just wish they'd throw my ball back when
I hit it in the woods.”
The tournament has been marred by turmoil since Woods agreed to
play, with the U.S. Embassy in Wellington receiving a letter last
month containing cyanide and a threat to disrupt the event.
There also was controversy over Woods' $2 million appearance fee,
along with tickets that were priced 10 times higher than last
year. A boycott by some top New Zealand players was avoided when
organizers agreed to allow fans under 16 to attend free of charge.
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