Friday, June 16, 2000
Woods emerges from fog to lead
at Pebble Beach
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — In thick,
soupy fog that slowly crept across Pebble Beach, Tiger Woods made
it perfectly clear why he is the man to beat in the U.S. Open.
Woods made the toughest test in golf look
like a casual stroll along the seaside with the lowest score ever
for a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, a 6-under 65 that gave him a
one-stroke lead over Miguel Angel Jimenez in the first round Thursday.
He also sent a powerful message to the rest
of the field: Catch me if you can.
“I think it's a lot easier to play
from a spot near the lead than it is when you're that far behind,”
Woods said. “I'd much rather have the lead than try to catch
up.”
Four months ago at Pebble Beach, Woods stormed
from seven strokes behind on his final seven holes to win the
National Pro-Am. The view from the first round was much better,
even if he could barely make out the green from 200 yards away
in the white shroud of fog.
“We always called this `June Gloom'
because the fog always rolls in,” Woods said.
It could be “June Doom” for everyone
else.
It certainly was for John Daly, who withdrew
after taking a 14 on the last hole for an 83.
Daly, just 3 over on the day, hit one ball
out of bounds, three in the ocean, hit a left-handed shot from
against the sea wall in the bunker and walked off the course without
talking.
The first round was suspended with 75 of
the 156 players still on the course as the fog reduced visibility
to about 100 yards. They will return at 6:45 a.m. PDT on Friday.
Among those still on the course was Nick
Faldo, a three-time Masters and British Open champion who hasn't
won in more than three years. With five birdies and an eagle on
his first 12 holes, Faldo was at 4 under.
Two former U.S. Open champions — Corey
Pavin and 55-year-old Hale Irwin — were at 3 under, along
with Loren Roberts, who lost in a three-way Open playoff at Oakmont
in 1994.
Jack Nicklaus, playing in his 44th consecutive
Open, was 2 over through eight holes.
Jimenez, whom Woods beat in a playoff at
Valderrama in November, made three straight birdies on the front
nine and finished with an 18-foot birdie putt for a 5-under 66.
That victory in Spain was among the six
in a row by Woods. He has set himself apart from his peers in
the past year, with 11 victories in his last 20 PGA Tour events
and finishing out of the top 10 just twice in his last 25 tournaments
worldwide.
Once again, he played with few flaws.
“I made a lot of crucial putts, and
you have to do that in a U.S. Open,” said Woods, who spent
two hours working on his stroke late Tuesday afternoon.
John Huston took advantage of being in the
second group off, when sunshine bathed Pebble Beach with only
a fresh breeze. He had a 4-under 67, his best start ever in a
U.S. Open.
Right behind was Bobby Clampett, who knows
Pebble better than anyone else, having grown up on the Monterey
Peninsula. In his first U.S. Open since 1986, in his first tournament
of the year, Clampett birdied four of the first 10 holes and finished
with a 68.
“Can you believe this?” Clampett
said. “It was extremely emotional for me. At times out there,
I was fighting off the tears.”
Just as amazing as Woods' 65 was the fact
he made no bogeys, a rarity in any U.S. Open. Woods saved par
from 15 feet on the 11th, made a 10-footer on the hourglass green
at No. 17, and got up-and-down four other times for par.
The fog kept the greens from getting too
crusty and the wind was moderate at best. Clearly, this was the
day for scoring. But as so many others found out, the U.S. Open
is never a championship to attack at will.
Hal Sutton, who holed an 8-iron from 136
yards for eagle on opening hole, was at 6 under until he missed
the green left on the par-5 14th and paid dearly.
His chip from spinach-like rough went over
the pin, down the slope and off the front of the green. He failed
to get up-and-down and finished off his round of 69 with another
bogey on the 18th when he hit into the rough off the tee.
Because of the fog, he didn't realize he
was in the rough until he got there.
“I elected to hit 3-iron to where I
could see,” Sutton said.
Phil Mickelson, the runner-up at Pinehurst
No. 2 a year ago, got off to a rocky start but made birdies on
three of his last six holes for an even-par 71, along with England's
Lee Westwood, Paul Azinger and Tom Lehman.
Not everyone was that fortunate.
David Duval had a 40 on the back nine with
bogeys on both par 5s and had a 75. Jeff Sluman, the runner-up
at Pebble Beach in the '92 Open, had a 78.
Still, no one was willing to concede to
Woods quite yet.
“He put up a very good score,”
said Sergio Garcia, who wore knickers to honor the late Payne
Stewart and had a 75. “But if you shoot 1 or 2 under, he
could struggle very easily on this course. You can go 2 or 3 over
just like that.
“The tournament is not over,”
the 20-year-old Spaniard said. “It just started.”
Woods hasn't shown much capacity to struggle
anywhere, much less Pebble Beach. On his last competitive round
on the spectacular course along the rugged California coastline,
he had a 64 to cap off his thrilling comeback.
Woods immediately thrust himself into the
thick of the championship with a tap-in birdie on No. 4 and a
15-foot birdie putt on the dangerous par-3 seventh hole. He made
another nice save from the thick collar around the eighth green,
lofting a chip to a foot.
“I don't think anyone is trying to
catch me,” Woods said. “Everyone is trying to set themselves
up for a nice little run on Sunday.”
At this rate, that might not be possible.
Told that his 65 was a U.S. Open record
at Pebble Beach — Gil Morgan had a 6-under 66 in 1992 —
Woods shrugged.
“If I do it four straight days, it
would be pretty good,” he said.
The last player to win the U.S. Open after
leading the first day was Stewart, who went on to defeat Scott
Simpson in 1991 at Hazeltine.
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