Woods struggles to shoot par
By RON SIRAK / AP Golf Writer
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) - The last time Tim Herron crossed paths
with Tiger Woods at Muirfield Village he beat the then 15-year-old
whiz kid in the 1992 U.S. Amateur Championship.
The rolly-polly power hitter with the very descriptive nickname
"Lumpy" had another good day on the Jack Nicklaus course
Thursday, shooting a 66 to share the first-round lead in the Memorial
Tournament with Jesper Parnevik, Glen Day and Billy Andrade.
Woods, meanwhile, struggled at Muirfield once again, needing
an eagle-birdie rally late on the back nine to save a 72 and avoid
his worst round of the year.
Herron, one of only two people to defeat Woods in his 23 matches
in U.S. Amateur play, was knocking in putts from all over the
place Thursday as he played with the confidence he had earlier
in the year.
"I've been slumping for a good month now," Herron
said after making a half-dozen putts longer than 15 feet. "First
it was ball striking, then it was putting."
That was not a problem on Thursday.
Herron defeated Woods, seven years his junior, in the second
round of the 1992 U.S. Amateur.
"All the guys were razzing me on the practice tee,"
Herron recalled, "giving me a hard time about playing a 15-year-old."
Asked after the match if he thought Woods should turn pro,
Herron remembered saying: "I just beat him. I don't know
why he should turn pro."
Herron had a rock 'n' rolling first round in the Memorial in
which he made seven birdies, an eagle and three bogeys as players
took advantage of greens softened by a steady morning rain.
With birdies plentiful, Scott Hoch was a stroke back with a
67 while Phil Blackmar, Guy Boros and Ernie Els were at 68. Jack
Nicklaus, the 57-year-old founder of the Memorial and designer
of the course, shot a 69.
"I've gotten one good round in," Nicklaus said. "I
don't know what I'll do tomorrow."
Woods, however, was not able to exploit the friendly conditions
as he struggled to find the magical level of play he had in his
record-setting Masters victory last month.
"The swing is just a little too steep," Woods said.
"I'll try to get it back before the Open," he said about
the U.S. Open next month. "I hit a lot of shots off line
to the right."
Woods was 3-over through 14 holes, then rolled in a 25-footer
for an eagle on No. 15 and a 12-foot birdie putt on the next hole
to get back to even par, six strokes off the lead.
Even in his victory in the Byron Nelson two weeks ago and his
fourth-place finish in the Colonial, Woods was saved time and
again by a great short game. He remained a wee bit out of sync
on Thursday.
Woods drove into a bunker on the first hole but managed to
save par and hit a shot characteristic of his lack of sharpness
on No. 2 when he pulled a simple short iron shot to the green
40 feet left of the flag.
Woods bogeyed the 537-yard fifth hole - a green he should reach
in two - after driving into the right trees, spinning his third
shot back off the green from only 85 yards out and then missing
a 4-foot downhill putt.
Woods highest score this year was a 73 - twice - in the Players
Championship and his only score above 73 in 66 previous rounds
as a pro was a 78 in the second round of the Tour Championship,
a round he played just hours after his father was rushed to a
hospital with chest pains.
Another player who struggled was just happy to be on the course.
John Daly, playing his first competitive round since eight weeks
of alcohol rehabilitation, shot an erratic 76.
"I was very rusty," Daly said. "It felt good
to be back. It's kind of a tough golf course to come back for
my first start, but I love playing here."
Andrade got to 7-under through 17 holes and had the lead alone
but fell into a tie when he hit his second shot into the trees
on No. 18 and bogeyed.
Parnevik managed his 66 following a transatlantic flight after
missing the cut in the European PGA Championship in what he called
"the worst I've played as a pro."
The Swede with the upturned hat was 1-over after three holes
then made birdies on seven of the next 12 holes.
"The putts started falling and then you get your confidence
back," he said.
Day's round, in which he made a single bogey, was capped with
a birdie-birdie finish.
DIVOTS: Gary Player, winner of nine major championships
and part of the Big Three of Nicklaus, Palmer and Player in the
1960s, was this year's honoree in the Memorial Tournament. ...
Furman Bisher, the 78-year-old columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
was the 1997 media honoree. Bisher has covered 48 consecutive
Masters. ... Tournament officials will not release attendance
figures other than to say it was sold out. $100 weekly badges
were officially going for $135 and unofficially for $175 and could
be purchased daily from brokers for $50. And the most frequently
spoken words by badgeholders was, "Where's Tiger?" ...
Fuzzy Zoeller made five 6s on his way to a 78. ... Defending champion
Tom Watson shot a 72.
|
