AT THE MASTERS
The Green Jacket is still up for grabs
AUGUSTA, Ga. » Not even Tiger Woods could rescue a first-round leaderboard that looked more like the John Deere Classic than the Masters by day's end.
In the fading light of Augusta National, Woods bogeyed the final two holes to close with a 1-over 73, leaving him four shots off the pace set by Justin Rose and Brett Wetterich, who have exactly one PGA Tour win between them.
The two 69s were the only 18 holes in the 60s as the 96 golfers managed to shoot the fourth-highest opening round in 40 years. Sony Open 2006 champ David Toms and David Howell were tied for third with a pair of 2-under 70s, with another five golfers tied for fifth at 1-under 71, including Zach Johnson, Tim Clark and Rich Beem.
Woods, who has never broken 70 in the opening round of the Masters, didn't land in the red until a birdie at the 15th put him 1 under for his round. But an inability to find the fairway cost Woods on the two closing holes, leaving him shaking his head in frustration as he talked to a flock of reporters by the 18th green.
Judging by the lack of star power in front of him, Woods still has an excellent chance to win his third consecutive major. Those who might have challenged him struggled mightily in the cool, crisp conditions that greeted the golfers yesterday morning.
"I threw away a good round of golf," Woods said. "I wasn't sweeping it very good. I putted pretty good. It's playing dry and fast. The pins, I thought, were a little friendly. It will be interesting this weekend with the course playing so dry.
"I've got to organize a few things. I had it right there and then threw it away. I can actually roll the ball out there. I looked on the computer coming out and saw guys were barely under. The earlier guys had it a little harder."
Count defending champion Phil Mickelson among them. He struggled to a 4-over 76 that included back-to-back birdies on the closing nine that kept him from disappearing from view. He had plenty of company at this number, including Fred Couples, Colin Montgomery, Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen.
And these guys weren't alone in the black, either. Vijay Singh and Scott Verplank were among five golfers at 1-over 73, and world No. 3 Adam Scott joined seven other golfers at 2-over 74, including Arron Oberholser. World No. 2 Jim Furyk carded a 3-over 75, as did 14 other golfers that included Hawaii's Dean Wilson, Chris DiMarco, Tom Watson, Stuart Appleby, U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and Mike Weir.
The list of big names with even bigger numbers goes on and on, including Ernie Els at 6-over 78. The average score was 76.195, as only nine golfers shot under par. With no rain in the forecast and temperatures predicted to dip below freezing the next two days, the course figures to get even harder in the coming campaign.
"I don't feel I've driven myself out of it," Mickelson said. "Even par is going to be in the hunt after Friday. If I get out and shoot a 68, I'll be right back in it."
Rose and Wetterich are currently in the driver's seat. Rose is still looking for his first PGA Tour win. He has come close several times before, only to see victory slip from his grasp. He needed only 20 putts yesterday, the fewest since Mark O'Meara had a scant 19 in the third round in 1999, but was still caught by Wetterich, who had five birdies on his card.
"This is my first time being here, so I'm not real sure how the course is today compared to years past," said Wetterich, who won the 2006 Byron Nelson. "But I know it was playing tough out there. The greens are awfully firm, and they are fast. And if you're not in the right spots, you're going to make some bogeys out there."
Rose was the only golfer not to card a bogey. In fact, of the top 20 players in the world, the only one to shoot under par was 20th-ranked Toms. As for Rose, this is the second time he has held the first-round lead at Augusta. He turned the same trick in 2004 en route to a tie for 22nd.
"Obviously, it's exciting to go bogey free on any course on any day," Rose said. "But the first round of Augusta on a day where obviously the scores are pretty high makes it a very pleasing round. Yeah, one that I'm very happy with for sure."
What made it even more intriguing was not only did Rose need just 20 putts, but he also managed to hit only five of 18 greens, prompting him to say, "You mean, I made a 2-putt? Sometimes, statistics don't always tell the story.
"On more than one occasion, I felt like I was 10 or 12 feet from the pin, but on the fringe. Certainly my short game was unbelievable today and that is why I managed to shoot such a good score. I can learn a lot from being the 36-hole leader here in 2004. Experience is what makes players better."
![[Chart]](art6chart.jpg)
The Masters
At Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta Ga.
First round, 7,445 yards, par: 72 (36-36)
(a-amateur)
| Justin Rose |
34-35 |
-- |
69
|
| Brett Wetterich |
35-34 |
-- |
69
|
| David Howell |
36-34 |
-- |
70
|
| David Toms |
36-34 |
-- |
70
|
| Tim Clark |
36-35 |
-- |
71
|
| Vaughn Taylor |
36-35 |
-- |
71
|
| Zach Johnson |
35-36 |
-- |
71
|
| Rich Beem |
35-36 |
-- |
71
|
| J.J. Henry |
36-35 |
-- |
71
|
| Davis Love III |
36-36 |
-- |
72
|
| Henrik Stenson |
34-38 |
-- |
72
|
| Bart Bryant |
37-35 |
-- |
72
|
| Tim Herron |
37-35 |
-- |
72
|
| Jeev Milkha Singh |
33-39 |
-- |
72
|
| Scott Verplank |
37-36 |
-- |
73
|
| Rory Sabbatini |
37-36 |
-- |
73
|
| Luke Donald |
37-36 |
-- |
73
|
| Tiger Woods |
37-36 |
-- |
73
|
| Vijay Singh |
37-36 |
-- |
73
|
| Arron Oberholser |
35-39 |
-- |
74
|
| Adam Scott |
37-37 |
-- |
74
|
| Jose Maria Olazabal |
37-37 |
-- |
74
|
| Todd Hamilton |
38-36 |
-- |
74
|
| Craig Stadler |
35-39 |
-- |
74
|
| Lucas Glover |
36-38 |
-- |
74
|
| Fuzzy Zoeller |
36-38 |
-- |
74
|
| Trevor Immelman |
37-37 |
-- |
74
|
| Ian Poulter |
39-36 |
-- |
75
|
| Dean Wilson |
37-38 -- |
75
|
| Bradley Dredge |
38-37 |
-- |
75
|
| Chris DiMarco |
37-38 |
-- |
75
|
| Kenneth Ferrie |
37-38 |
-- |
75
|
| Tom Watson |
36-39 |
-- |
75
|
| Stuart Appleby |
39-36 |
-- |
75
|
| Mike Weir |
36-39 |
-- |
75
|
| K.J. Choi |
36-39 |
-- |
75
|
| Geoff Ogilvy |
38-37 |
-- |
75
|
| Charles Howell III |
37-38 |
-- |
75
|
| Jim Furyk |
38-37 |
-- |
75
|
| Yong-Eun Yang |
36-39 |
-- |
75
|
| Tom Pernice Jr. |
37-38 |
-- |
75
|
| Jerry Kelly |
38-37 |
-- |
75
|
| Billy Mayfair |
40-36 |
-- |
76
|
| Nick O'Hern |
37-39 |
-- |
76
|
| Ben Crenshaw |
38-38 |
-- |
76
|
| Colin Montgomerie |
37-39 |
-- |
76
|
| Fred Couples |
37-39 |
-- |
76
|
| Sergio Garcia |
37-39 |
-- |
76
|
| Phil Mickelson |
40-36 |
-- |
76
|
| a-Richie Ramsay |
38-38 |
-- |
76
|
| Carl Pettersson |
37-39 |
-- |
76
|
| Ben Curtis |
37-39 |
-- |
76
|
| Jeff Sluman |
38-38 |
-- |
76
|
| Stephen Ames |
37-39 |
-- |
76
|
| Retief Goosen |
38-38 |
-- |
76
|
| Michael Campbell |
40-36 |
-- |
76
|
| Mark Calcavecchia |
38-38 |
-- |
76
|
| Brett Quigley |
39-37 |
-- |
76
|
| a-John Kelly |
36-41 |
-- |
77
|
| Steve Stricker |
38-39 |
-- |
77
|
| Niclas Fasth |
37-40 |
-- |
77
|
| Mark O'Meara |
40-37 |
-- |
77
|
| Chad Campbell |
39-38 |
-- |
77
|
| Angel Cabrera |
37-40 |
-- |
77
|
| Stewart Cink |
40-37 |
-- |
77
|
| Robert Karlsson |
39-38 |
-- |
77
|
| Rod Pampling |
37-40 |
-- |
77
|
| Raymond Floyd |
37-40 |
-- |
77
|
| John Rollins |
36-41 |
-- |
77
|
| Thomas Bjorn |
35-42 |
-- |
77
|
| Padraig Harrington |
37-40 |
-- |
77
|
| Bernhard Langer |
39-39 |
-- |
78
|
| Ernie Els |
42-36 |
-- |
78
|
| John Edfors |
37-41 |
-- |
78
|
| Troy Matteson |
39-40 |
-- |
79
|
| Sandy Lyle |
38-41 |
-- |
79
|
| Shingo Katayama |
40-39 |
-- |
79
|
| Paul Goydos |
39-40 |
-- |
79
|
| Miguel Angel Jimenez |
38-41 |
-- |
79
|
| Robert Allenby |
38-41 |
-- |
79
|
| Lee Westwood |
36-43 |
-- |
79
|
| Ben Crane |
39-40 |
-- |
79
|
| Paul Casey |
40-39 |
-- |
79
|
| Aaron Baddeley |
39-40 |
-- |
79
|
| Joe Durant |
43-37 |
-- |
80
|
| Camilo Villegas |
39-41 |
-- |
80
|
| Fred Funk |
36-46 |
-- |
82
|
| Shaun Micheel |
40-42 |
-- |
82
|
| Larry Mize |
41-42 |
-- |
83
|
| Gary Player |
39-44 |
-- |
83
|
| a-Julien Guerrier |
42-41 |
-- |
83
|
| Darren Clarke |
43-40 |
-- |
83
|
| a-Dave Womack |
42-42 |
-- |
84
|
| Hideto Tanihara |
44-41 |
-- |
85
|
| Seve Ballesteros |
43-43 |
-- |
86
|
| a-Casey Watabu |
40-47 |
-- |
87
|
| Ian Woosnam |
WD |
