[ PGA TOUR ]
Scores go low
on first day
As well as Michelle Wie played yesterday, finishing with a 2-over 72, she's still tied for 105th place and in real danger of missing the cut at the $4.8 million Sony Open in Hawaii.
The winds that blew through the island chain on Wednesday were barely around yesterday as the players had their way with Waialae. Some 80 golfers shot even-par 70 or better, leaving the course designers wondering what they can do to level the playing field.
There were a remarkable 457 birdies recorded by the 144 golfers who toured the course with an average score of 70.271. Add 14 eagles and only 406 bogeys, and it's easy to see why the leaderboard will remain crowded come the weekend.
Carlos Franco set a torrid pace with a 7-under 63. He easily distanced himself from the field, but it's only after one round. There were 56 golfers who shot between 66 and 69, meaning practically anybody could still win the first full-field event on the PGA Tour.
Defending champion Ernie Els is in that group with a 3-under 67. Last week's Mercedes Championships winner Stuart Appleby trails Els by only four shots, but at 71, he's in danger of missing the cut here for the first time in eight appearances.
The most-difficult hole for the day was the par-4, 488-yard first. It yielded only five birdies. There were 46 bogeys, six doubles and one triple by Wes Short Jr., who still managed a respectable 71.
The easiest hole was the par-5 ninth. With the Kona winds at their backs, the golfers had few problems with the 510-yard hole. There were 10 eagles, including one by Els from 20 feet that put him back into contention. There were only two bogeys, two doubles and one surprising triple at the ninth by Yusaka Miyazato. He finished with a 72.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jesper Parnevik of Sweden shot a 65 yesterday to take second place after the first round of the Sony Open.
Franco on fire: Franco's 63 was the best of his career. In his five previous seasons on the PGA Tour, Franco's best was a 64 in the final round of the 2002 Buick Challenge. In relation to par, the 64 was better at 8 under.
This is the fourth time in Franco's career that he has held or shared the first-round lead. His other leads came at the 2000 Honda Classic (tied for 7th), the 2000 Shell Houston Open (t-11th) and 2003 Southern Farm Bureau Classic (65th). Statistically, Franco hit 16 of 18 greens, eight of 14 fairways and had 29 putts.
"I'm very lucky because I missed a couple of putts for birdie," Franco said. "I played very well, except for the first four holes (even par). When I start to try to birdie, you know, miss, miss and I don't lose the focus, only my mental for next hole. This is a good start for me now."
Franco was one of three golfers who posted bogey-free rounds. The other two were Jim Furyk (67) and Jeff Brehaut (69).
Grand slammed: Three of the four Grand Slam winners of a year ago are in the field this week, with only U.S. Open champion Furyk fairly sure he'll be playing on the weekend. British Open winner Ben Curtis, who struggled at the Mercedes Championships last week, fired a ho-hum 71 yesterday.
For Curtis to make the cut, he'll need to have a red figure today. So will PGA Championship winner Shaun Micheel. He shot a pedestrian 72 and is tied for 105th with Wie. But unlike her, this is not a round to point to with pride. Masters champion Mike Weir played at the Mercedes last week, but skipped this event once again. He hasn't played here since missing the cut at 148 in 1999.
International flavor: Last week, the foreign golfers made their mark on the Mercedes leaderboard, and they're doing it again this week. Five of the top eight finishers yesterday play under international flags.
They are Franco (63) of Paraguay, Sweden's Jesper Parnevik (65), Trinidad's Stephen Ames (66), Aaron Baddeley (66) of Australia and England's Luke Donald (66).
