Tiger's game slips, but cheers continue
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Tiger Woods' game slipped a bit in
the first round of the MasterCard Colonial Thursday, but his following
didn't drop off at all.
Woods fired an opening-round 67, four off the lead, but that
mattered little to a gallery of thousands who crowded the narrow
fairways of the historic Colonial Country Club course.
In fact, Woods' every move - even when he stopped for a drink
of water - was greeted with rousing cheers. He responded at nearly
every hole by greeting the crowd.
"When I was growing up watching tournaments on TV, I saw
players do that and I thought that was really neat," he said.
"I want to do what I can to make people feel good,."
The presence of the 21-year-old Masters champion was the reason
the tournament sold out all its 40,000 tickets for the first time
in its 51-year history.
The vast majority of the crowd seemed to have come out to watch
Woods, who played with former U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen and
John Morse.
Getting a view of Woods wasn't enough for some young fans.
Three teen-age girls slipped through the ropes leading to the
13th tee to pat Woods on the back as he walked past.
"We touched him! We touched Tiger Woods!" one cried.
"He is so cool-looking."
Woods described his gallery as "mellow."
"It was good so many new people are coming out to watch
us play. It is always good to have new people see golf for the
first time," he said.
Woods, who had never seen the par 70 layout before this week,
said he was pleased with his position after 18 holes.
"Any score under par here is a good one. I think this
can be a very tough course, especially when the wind blows,"
he said.
It wasn't high winds but slow play that almost cost Woods during
Thursday's front nine. When his group arrived on the ninth tee,
they were informed by an official to speed up or they would be
timed for possible slow-play violations.
When the players reached their drives in the 9th fairway, Woods
said he was confused between Janzen's and Morse's shots. As a
result, he hit out of turn, playing his approach shot when it
was Janzen's turn to hit.
"I was very apologetic to Lee for hitting out of turn.
I thought Lee's ball was actually John's.
In stroke play, there is no penalty for hitting out of turn,
provided a player hits his own ball. In match play, the penalty
is loss of the hole.
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