Big threesome awes crowd in a major way
By JOHN DIAMOND / Associated Press Writer
MAMARONECK, N.Y. (AP) - The gallery oohed at Tiger's booming
drives and aahed at Ernie's smooth swing, but at the end of the
day, it was Justin's little wedges that brought in the low score
among golf's major champions.
In the traditional opening-round threesome at the PGA Championship
Thursday, the winners of the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open
went off together: long-hitting Ernie Els, longer-hitting Tiger
Woods, and wedge-wizard Justin Leonard.
The little guy finished on top with a 2-under round of 68 over
Winged Foot Golf Club's 6,987-yard West Course. That put Leonard,
the British Open champion, two shots off the lead.
Woods, the reigning Masters champ, and Els, who won the U.S.
Open at Congressional Country Club, shot even par.
Leonard played a scrambling round worthy of Seve Ballesteros,
hitting only five fairways and seven greens, but making up for
it with brilliant wedge play and dead-on putting.
On the extremely difficult back nine, Leonard strung together
seven consecutive one-putt holes. On four of those, all long par-4s,
he got up and down from between 50 yards and 100 yards from the
hole. Including his chip-in on No. 9, Leonard needed 11 putts
over the final 10 holes.
Or consider this: On the 11 holes in which he missed the green,
or could not reach the green because he had driven into deep rough,
Leonard was a total of one-over.
"I got a good round today out of not such good ball-striking,"
Leonard said. Asked if he had anticipated needing three shots
to reach so many of Winged Foot's long par-4s, Leonard laughed
and said, "I was anticipating hitting a few more fairways."
Woods, 21, Leonard, 25, and Els, 27, are the leading edge of
golf's next generation of great players, and their performance
in Thursday's opening round suggested they likely will be around
this weekend, making life tough for the veterans.
The youngsters may be brash, but they know who to go to for
advice. Leonard said golf legend Byron Nelson told him to expect
to be hitting wedge for his third shot into some of Winged Foot's
par-4s.
"You have to realize that you're going to make bogeys
and so is everybody else," Nelson advised Leonard. "When
you hit it in the rough, just get it down there. ... You'll get
a few up-and-downs."
On the 9th green, Leonard decided not to bother with the "up"
part, hitting an intentional skull with his sand wedge from the
rough beside the green into the cup for a birdie.
Both Woods and Els started off fast, getting to 3-under through
seven holes.
Then, on the 8th, Els drove into the right rough, two strides
off the fairway - and advanced the ball another two strides with
his second swipe. He groaned as he saw his predicament, and his
clubhead came through with a tossed-salad of grass wrapped around
the clubhead. A third hack in the eight-inch rough put Els in
front of the green, where he chipped and two-putted for a double-bogey.
Woods was in position to bring in a stellar score, standing
on the par-5 12th fairway at 3-under and in the hunt for another
birdie after a 320-yard drive. He was 240 yards from the green,
which for Woods meant a "soft" 3-wood or a "nuked"
2-iron. What he hit was a "banana" 3-wood, his ball
ending up under a lush Douglas fir tree beside the green. Two
chops later and Woods was still in the right rough. He finally
flopped the ball on and made a shaky two-putt for his double-bogey.
Neither Woods nor Els let themselves be bothered by these lapses.
On the next hole after his woodsy adventure, Woods was laughing
and joking with his caddie, Mike "Fluff" Cowan.
"Even par is never bad," said Woods. Then, perhaps
thinking of the 7 he made on No. 12, he added, "The golf
course will lull you into being too aggressive. ... You have to
play smart and keep the ball below the hole."
Woods had much to be happy about, having missed only four greens
on one of the most difficult golf courses in the world. He had
a mediocre 32 putts - at least three more than top golfers like
in a round.
Els had an up-and-down round, making five birdies, three bogeys
and his double.
Asked if there were competitive juices flowing among the three
major champions, Els demurred.
"I really concentrated on my golf game," Els said.
"You have to make sure you concentrate on making pars and
birdies instead of trying to match your game to other guys'."
Start or Join A Discussion about This Item
Send the URL (Address) of This Item
to A Friend:
|
