Woods a tiger on Kauai
By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Tiger Woods makes his birdie putt on the 18th hole to go 6-under-par yesterday.

He tames the Poipu Bay course with a record-tying 66 in first round of PGAGrand Slam

By Bill Kwon
Star-Bulletin

POIPU, Kauai - Tiger Woods came, saw and conquered the hearts of the more than 6,000 fans watching the first round of the MasterCard PGA Grand Slam yesterday.

The Masters champion also did a number on the Poipu Bay Resort golf course.

Wood did it practically sight unseen, shooting a record-tying 6-under 66 that included an awesome eagle-3 at the 537-yard 14th hole that triggered a comeback enabling him to overtake early leader Ernie Els.

Els, the U.S. Open champion, finds himself two back at 68 in the $1 million showdown featuring the winners of golf's four major championships.

Davis Love III, winner of the PGA Championship, shot a 71, while British Open champion Justin Leonard posted a 77 that put him virtually out of the running for the $400,000 top prize. Second is worth $250,000, third $200,000 and fourth $150,000.

The final 18 holes are scheduled today at the 6,957-yard Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course, which played with an opposite kona wind instead of prevailing trades. That made the normally easier finishing four downwind, downhill holes longer than usual, suiting Woods' length off the tees.

The best example came at the 501-yard 16th hole, which played longer than its usual par-4 because of the opposite wind.

Love had a great two-putt par from 60 feet, Els bogeyed the hole and Leonard, well, he ran afoul of a local rule after hitting a lava rock wall along the sea cliff on his approach shot and double-bogeyed it.

Tiger?

He hit a 311-yard drive, a 4-iron to 15 feet and dropped the birdie putt to assume the lead.

But it was his putting touch that proved the difference in yesterday's first round, according to Woods.

''I rolled the ball good today. I made a lot of clutch putts early and that really got me going,'' said Woods, who was also presented a trophy as the PGA Player of the Year after his round by PGA of America president Ken Lindsey.

''Tiger made a lot of good putts. He had a great round and could make it difficult tomorrow for Justin and me,'' said Love, winner of the recent Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International.

Perhaps Woods' best putt of the day was the eight-footer he sank to save . . . bogey!

That came on the par-4, 384-yard 13th when his sand wedge from 95 yards out drew back and rolled into a lake guarding the right side of the green.

Hitting a pitching wedge this time after losing a stroke and distance, Woods then dropped the putt for bogey. That got him going as he eagled 14 and birdied 16 and 18 to overtake Els.

Els, the only one of the four to have played Poipu Bay before, was happy with his round except for back-to-back bogeys after errant drives at Nos. 15 and 16. He had made the turn in 3-under 33.

The course played easier with the opposite wind, according to Els, although "the four holes coming back were pretty tough.''

Tell that to Leonard, especially after his adventure at the 16th.

His double-bogey 6 there and a bogey at 17th - after his fourth missed green in four par-3 holes - put him 11 strokes back. The best Leonard can hope for now is third place.

''It was not a fun day,'' said Leonard, the shortest off the tee. ''I knew all day I was going to hit first on the second shot . . . the third shot . . . the fourth shot. Those guys were done while I was still hitting.''

Love hit two spectators on his drive at the par-5 second hole, which he bogeyed.

''You always feel pretty bad when you hit somebody whether you hit a good shot or a bad shot. And I hit a bad shot. You lose your concentration a little bit (but) I didn't hit a good shot all the way down the entire hole,'' Love said.

It was just an inconsistent day, especially with his putter, according to Love.

''I didn't get off to a very good start (1-over after seven holes). I just hung in there. But, unfortunately, in a two-day event, that's not going to be quite good enough,'' Love added.

However, most everyone in the first paid gallery in the Grand Slam's fourth year at Poipu Bay Resort course came to see Woods.

And, boy, did he deliver.

His 300-yard drives drew oohs and ahs. And he wound up tying the tournament record here set by Greg Norman in 1994 and Tom Lehman last year.

Which might be a good sign because both Norman and Lehman parlayed their 66s to win the event.