Els leads again at the Buick Classic, Tiger
eight strokes back
By JOEL STASHENKO / Associated Press Writer
HARRISON, N.Y. (AP) - Ernie Els continued his uncanny mastery
of the Westchester Country Club on Thursday with a 7-under-par
64 and a two-stroke lead over Brad Faxon in the first round of
the Buick Classic.
Els, who won the U.S. Open last week and is defending his title
this week, just missed tying a Buick Classic record for low opening
round when he left a short putt on the lip of the 8th hole - his
17th of the day - for his only bogey. He came back to make a two-putt
birdie on the uphill, 505-yard par-5 9th after hitting a driver
off the tee and a driver off the fairway.
"I don't know how to explain it," Els said. "I'm
playing well. I should go with it now. I shouldn't hold back at
all. I'm not going to hold back."
One stroke behind Faxon were Jeff Maggert, Vijay Singh, Paul
Azinger and Jim Furyk.
Els was a wire-to-wire winner by eight strokes here last year,
and he started off this year's tournament in the same dominating
fashion. The South African birdied three of the first four holes
he played, Nos. 10, 11 and 13, and added others at 17, 2, 3 and
4.
On Wednesday, Els had worried that he might be distracted by
the lingering glow of his Open victory at Congressional Country
Club and the whirlwind days that followed. His birdie-birdie start
Thursday ended those fears.
"I was quite surprised," he said. "I didn't
have to find my mind. It was out on the golf course and I was
thinking about golf again. All in all, a nice round."
In his three previous appearances at the Buick Classic, Els
has finished second, tied for fourth and first. In the 13 rounds
he's played competitively at this tournament, he has been under
par 11 times and at even par once.
Els' total nearly tied the best first-round score in Buick
Classic history - 63 - set by David Graham and Slugger White in
1976 and Chip Beck in 1984.
Players said an overnight rain softened the 6,722-yard course
and allowed them to shoot at the flags. It was warm and partly
sunny for most of the golfers Thursday.
"I was kind of getting ready for a patient week, there
weren't going to be a lot of birdies made on this course,"
Maggert said. "But with the rain overnight it definitely
played a little easier. I was hitting the ball pretty close to
the hole most of the day and the ball was stopping on the green."
Faxon said he felt "achy" Wednesday and overnight,
but he rallied as his good round unfolded Thursday.
"I'm glad it was a late tee time today," he said.
Tiger Woods bogeyed four of his first six holes but birdied
the last two to finish with a 1-over 72.
"I could never get anything positive going for any extended
period of time," Woods said.
The winner of the $1.5 million Buick Classic will earn $270,000.
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