Friday, January 26, 2001
Woods a stroke back; Magee
makes historic ace
By TIM DAHLBERG
AP Sports Writer
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Tiger Woods
gave the huge crowds what they wanted — a spot near the top
of the leaderboard in the first round of the Phoenix Open. Andrew
Magee gave them something unexpected, and ended up with a spot
in PGA Tour history.
On a day when Magee made what was believed
to be the first hole-in-one on a par 4 on the PGA Tour, Woods
shot a methodical 6-under 65 Thursday to get within one shot of
defending champion Tom Lehman and two others.
Not even an orange tossed by a spectator
that went rolling by Woods as he stood over a birdie putt on his
final hole could mar a bogey-free round that saw a relaxed Woods
joking with playing partner Olin Browne and talking Stanford basketball
with his caddie.
“It could have been better but I had
a couple of lip outs,” Woods said. “I was playing well
in practice, so it was just a question of bringing it into the
tournament.”
Woods was about ready to hit a 20-foot birdie
putt on the ninth hole, his last, when a spectator threw a large
orange from a hill that went rolling across the green about 30
feet from Woods. He stepped back and looked into the crowd, then
missed the putt.
“It could have been dangerous if he
had hit someone,” Woods said. Police detained a 15-year-old
boy and tournament officials said they planned to press charges.
The officials said the boy told them he threw the orange on a
dare.
The incident came on an otherwise calm day
that drew an estimated 72,000 fans to one of the tour's most popular
— and raucous — stops. Tournament organizers had worked
to limit the rowdiness of earlier years, which included a man
being arrested carrying a gun while taunting Woods two years ago.
Second-year pro Brad Elder set the early
pace with a 64, which stood up most of the day until Lehman and
Scott Verplank posted identical scores. Woods was tied with five
others at 65 on a day when smooth greens and perfect weather combined
for ideal scoring conditions.
Magee's shot was a bit of a fluke, ricocheting
off of Tom Byrum's putter into the cup on the 333-yard 17th hole.
Tour officials said they couldn't recall a hole-in-one ever being
made on a par 4 in tournament play.
Magee watched as the ball glanced off the
putter about 8 feet away into the hole, but wasn't sure what had
happened.
“It looked like a hole-in-one and it
sounded like one,” Magee said. “But I didn't know. I
was 332 yards away.”
Magee, who finished with a 66 that put him
two shots off the lead, had hit his drive in the water two holes
earlier and made double bogey.
“I'm still in shock,” he said.
“I'm going to bask in the glow of this for a while.”
Woods, who is not often upstaged on a golf
course, was properly impressed.
“Come on, really?” he said when
told about the shot. “Wow, a nice little double eagle.”
There was nothing unusual about Woods being
in contention once again in only his second tournament of the
young season, although he had plenty of company on a crowded leaderboard.
Woods drove the green himself on the 17th
hole, barely missing an eagle putt, en route to his 52nd straight
round of par or better before adoring crowds that applauded his
every move.
“Thanks for coming, Tiger,” a
fan shouted on the 16th hole to Woods, who committed to play the
tournament only last week.
Lehman, who lives nearby and won here last
year, played the back nine first and struggled early before a
talk with himself over his putting got him going.
Lehman shot 30 on his back nine, finishing
with a 25-footer for birdie to move into a tie for the lead.
“The first four holes I made terrible
strokes and decided, hey, forget about your stroke and just putt
it,” Lehman said. “Just try to make the putt. Don't
worry about how you do it. From that point on, I putted well.”
Divots:
Tournament officials expect crowds to peak as usual on Saturday,
where last year an estimated 124,600 people showed up to watch
the third round...There have been 14 aces in the Phoenix Open
since it moved to the TPC of Scottsdale course in 1987. Woods
himself had one on the 16th hole in 1997. ... Lehman's 64 was
a stroke worse than the 63 he opened the tournament with last
year. ... Elder was inadvertently introduced by a press room volunteer
as Lee Elder, who in 1975 became the first black to play in the
Masters. ... Nine players were still on the course when play was
suspended due to darkness. They will finish their rounds Friday
morning.
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