Woods completes 64 to lead at Bay Hill
By DOUG FERGUSON / AP Sports Writer
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Barely 23 hours after his first round
began, Tiger Woods finished it off today with four birdies on
the last seven holes for an 8-under-par 64 at the Bay Hill Invitational.
Woods led by one stroke over Robert Damron, who completed a
65 on his home course before the round was suspended by rain Thursday
afternoon.
More storms, which already have made the Bay Hill Club soft
and ripe for low scoring, were forecast for this afternoon. Even
if it doesn't rain, the second round will not be completed until
Saturday.
"I'm probably going to go home and sleep," said Woods,
who lives in Orlando and had a 5:50 p.m. tee time this afternoon.
At noon, more than half of the field was still on the course
trying to complete its first round. Ernie Els made the turn in
4-under 32. Davis Love III had an eagle on No. 4 to get to 4-under
until bogeys on the next two holes.
John Daly continued his steady play with a 4-under 68. His
wedge from 150 yards out on the 18th came up short and into the
rocks guarding the water, but ricocheted onto the green for a
two-putt par.
"I feel like when I step on the tee I'm going to play
half-decent, maybe go really low," Daly said, who now has
had 20 of his past 22 rounds at par or better. "It's a confidence
thing."
Woods is playing perhaps the most consistent golf of his young
career. While winless on the PGA Tour in four tournaments this
year, he has two seconds -- one a playoff loss -- a third, and
a ninth.
He put himself in great position today with a 64 that he made
look awfully easy. He missed only three greens and hit irons into
all of the par 5s, two-putting all of them from about 35 feet
for birdies.
It was only the second time in five tournaments that Woods
has shot under 70 in the first round, the other time a 68 at the
Nissan Open.
"I haven't been able to do that in a while," he said.
"That's the best start since Byron Nelson," when he
also shot 64 and wound up winning.
The difference was in the putter. Woods has missed several
10-foot putts in his last two tournaments, but had it working
over his two-day first round.
"I fixed my putting, and I feel comfortable over the ball,"
he said.
Woods saved par with a 15-foot putt Thursday on No. 8, then
kept his lead today after missing the green left on the par-3
17th and holing a 7-footer to save par.
Damron, who grew up at Bay Hill and still lives about 400 yards
down the the 10th fairway, also played bogey-free for a 65. Bernhard
Langer also beat the rain Thursday for a 4-under 68.
Steve Stricker, who failed to crack the top five last year
while struggling with new equipment, completed a 67 this morning.
PGA champion Davis Love III made eagle on the par-5 fourth hole
to get to 4 under.
Damron has plenty of memories of Bay Hill as a spectator. On
Thursday, he starred in Arnold Palmer's tournament.
"I came out here and expected to play well, being my home
course," Damron said. "I did, and that was nice."
Palmer's goal to have the greens firm and fast got washed away
by one round of rain after another. The pins became sitting ducks,
as evident by Damron's seven birdies -- the longest one on a 12-foot
putt.
He saved par on the last two holes, from the bunker on the
par-3 17th and then with a delicate, downhill chip to within tap-in
range on No. 18.
"The rough is still tough and the fairways are wet, so
it's still playing long," Damron said. "But I think
Mr. Palmer wanted it to play a lot tougher than it did. The rain
certainly eased it up."
And experience seemed to give Damron a better chance.
A year ago, he was such a basket of nerves playing the tournament
for the first time that he wondered if he would even finish.
"My chest hurt, I thought I was going to have to withdraw,"
he said. "I couldn't breathe, I was so nervous. Today, I
felt fine. It was nice to come home and play well."
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