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| August 23, 2003 | Saturday | Jumadi-us-Sani 24, 1424 |
Wounded Tiger bites back
AKRON (Ohio), Aug 22: Wounded Tiger Woods bit back on Thursday when he fired an opening round five-under 65 to be only one off the early lead held by Open champion Ben Curtis in the six million dollar NEC Invitational.
The 27-year-old world number one had been annoyed about talk that he was in a slump because he had failed to win a major this season.
“My stroke average has been the best it’s been for a long time, and I’ve been somehow labelled into a slump for some reason,” complained Woods on the eve of the championship he has made his own.
Woods has won three of the four previous NECs and finished fourth in the other.
Defending champion Craig Parry, who opened with a one-under 69, had warned that people should stop talking about a Tiger slump.
Woods started off quietly, reaching the turn at two-under but then he pounced on the inward nine, reeling off three straight birdies.
His scorecard was marred by a single bogey at the par-four 17th.
If Curtis, who was bogey free in his six-under 64, continues to play the same way his five o’clock marriage on Saturday to longtime sweetheart Candace is going to have to be put back. The late starters don’t tee off until after three o’clock.
Curtis said his round was saved by his putter.
Clarke very nearly overpowered the massive 667-yard par-five 16th when he hit an enormous drive, the ball bounding down the fairway more than 400 yards off the tee.
It left him 260 yards to the green and he admitted he was almost tempted to go for it with his three-wood. Only a downhill lie made him decide to lay up.
Former USPGA Champions David Toms set the early pace with a four-under 66.
It was a flawless round for the 36-year-old who ran off four birdies and 14 pars over the Firestone Country Club.
But Toms correctly forecast that he would not be leading at the end of the day. An hour later Curtis, playing in front of his home crowd, proved him right.
First round scores:
64 Ben Curtis, Sergio Garcia
65 Darren Clarke, Tiger Woods
66 David Toms, Chris Riley, Scott Verplank, Davis Love III
67 Fred Couples, Ernie Els (South Africa), Jeff Sluman, Niclas Fasth, Retief Goosen
68 Bob Estes, Hal Sutton, Colin Montgomerie, Brad Faxon, Phil Mickelson, Jerry Kelly, Jonathan Kaye, Phillip Price.—AFP
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