Friday, January 7, 2000
Maui lead
blowin’ in the wind
Parnevik's first-round 69
at Kapalua is remarkable in the
blustery conditionsWoods extends sub-par string
By Bill Kwon
Star-BulletinKAPALUA, Maui -- Jesper Parnevik's father is Sweden's most famous comedian, but the 34-year-old Swede isn't a bad stand-up comic, either.
Sitting with his trademark hat with its turned-up bill, Parnevik looked over his scorecard after yesterday's opening round of the Mercedes Championships.
"It was a pretty interesting card," he said. "Not too often you make two doubles and a bogey and still lead the tournament, but I managed to do that."
With tradewinds gusting up to 35 mph, Parnevik was one of only eight golfers who bettered par-73 at Kapalua's Plantation Course as he shot a 4-under-69 for a one-stroke lead over Duffy Waldorf.
Two strokes back at 71 were Tiger Woods, who is trying to become the first player since Ben Hogan 46 years ago to win five straight PGA Tour events, and two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els.
Defending champion David Duval, who set a tournament record with a 26-under-par 266 last year under windless conditions, fought back from two bogeys on his first four holes to join Jim Furyk, Brad Faxon and Jeff Sluman in a four-way tie at 72.
Duvall finished birdie-birdie to get right back in the ballgame.
With the winds making club selection difficult, it was like being on a game show, according to Notah Begay, who along with Brent Geiberger, Stuart Appleby and Vijay Singh, managed to scrape out par 73s.
"There's still a lot of golf left, it's only the first round," said Woods, who hopes it continues to blow hard through Sunday's final round.
"I've always been a wind player. I enjoy it," Woods said. "Under these conditions out here, it's very difficult to keep making birdies. You just need to keep making pars and plodding along. If you keep plodding along, making a few birdies here and there, you'll be fine."
Just ask Parnevik. He's leading despite back-to-back double-bogeys at the 12th and 13th holes, where he lost four strokes after being 6-under and threatening to run away from the champions-only field.
He made the turn at 31, birdieing five of his first seven holes. It was like he was playing a different course from the others, who were struggling just to stay even par.
"Then the fun started," said Parnevik, describing his misadventures at 12 and 13, where winds created the most havoc. At the par 4 13th, he was 150 yards away after his tee shot. "I absolutely killed a 3-iron and still went 20 yards short of the green," Parnevik said.
He tried to get cute on his next shot and pitched it into the bunker for another double-bogey. But he recovered with birdies on 14 and 15. Parnevik gave one back at 17 when he had to wait 25 minutes for the twosome ahead of him. But he got it back with a tap-in birdie at the signature par-5 18th.
Someone in the gallery kidded Parnevik about his red pants. Asked what he'll wear in today's second round, he replied, "Baby blue, maybe."
"Today was the way Kapalua can play," said Waldorf, who has played in the Kapalua International, a postseason event, five times. "I've played here enough times to have seen conditions like this. It helps to have a little course knowledge on a day like today."
The wind proved mentally draining, according to Waldorf, "and I was playing pretty well. At least the pool is available right after the round. The rest of Hawaii is available. At least you have some relaxation time."
For others like Rich Beem and Jeff Maggert, conditions were brutal. Beem shot an 84, Maggert an 80.
But it's still Tiger's Tale, as he tries to make it five in a row and get a jumpstart on retaining his PGA money title by walking off with the $522,000 top prize.
He likes his chances, especially if the winds continue to blow.
"Under these conditions, marginal shots just won't get it done," Woods said.
And Woods hardly delivers shots that are marginal.
MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Kapalua
First round
Par 36-37 - 73Jesper Parnevik...31-38--69
Duffy Waldorf...33-37--70
Ernie Els...35-36--71
Tiger Woods...36-35--71
David Duval...36-36--72
Jeff Sluman...36-36--72
Jim Furyk...37-35--72
Brad Faxon...38-34--72
Stuart Appleby...37-36--73
Vijay Singh...35-38--73
Notah Begay III...37-36--73
Brent Geiberger...36-37--73
Glen Day...39-35--74
Tim Herron...37-37--74
Tom Pernice Jr....35-40--75
David Toms...38-37--75
Loren Roberts...37-39--76
Steve Elkington...38-38--76
Mike Weir...39-37--76
Paul Lawrie...37-39--76
Olin Browne...36-41--77
Brian Henninger...37-40--77
Hal Sutton...38-39--77
Carlos Franco...36-42--78
Gabriel Hjertstedt...38-40--78
J.L. Lewis...37-41--78
Rocco Mediate...40-39--79
Jeff Maggert...42-38--80
Ted Tryba...39-41--80
Rich Beem...38-46--84
MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS NOTEBOOK
KAPALUA, Maui - Tiger Woods fell two shots short of catching Jesper Parnevik during the opening round of the $2.9 million Mercedes Championships, but his 3-under 70 kept an impressive streak intact. Woods extends sub-par string
Woods extended his string of consecutive sub-par rounds in official PGA Tour events to nine. Dating back to last year, Woods' streak began at the Tour Championship and carried through the WGC-American Express Championship. He has shot under par in 18 of his last 21 stroke play rounds, a key reason why he won the final four PGA Tour events of 1999.
"It's not so bad playing in wind like this,'' Woods said of the blustery conditions. "But when you add in elevation changes here, it just makes it that much more difficult. You can't throw the ball in there downwind and expect it to stop right away. On certain holes, you have to allow for 30, 40 yards of roll.''
For a while, it appeared Parnevik was going to run away and hide. At one point, he had a six-stroke lead on Woods. But by the end of the round, the world's No. 1 golfer had cut the lead to two.
"In these conditions, you've just got to keep playing along,'' Woods said. "Under these conditions out here, 6-under-par is obviously wonderful playing, but there's still some holes left. It's very difficult to just keep making birdies in this wind.''
Whole lot of problems
The windy weather made all the holes tougher this year than last, but none was more difficult than the par-3 eighth. Golfers on the 203-yard hole hit off an elevated tee and must carry a deep gulch in front of the tiny green.Woods was one of eight golfers to bogey it. Another six double-bogeyed it with Glen Day earning the distinction of being the only man to card a birdie on this picturesque hole. The average score was a lofty 3.633
"I hit a 6-iron in the left bunker, blasted long, then tried to make a 12-footer there and missed it,'' Woods said. "The wind is tricky at that spot. It's at your back, but it blows strong from right to left.''
The easiest hole was the par-5, 15th. The average score for the 30 golfers in the field was 4.733. There were no eagles, 11 birdies, and only one bogey and one double bogey.
While the four easiest holes were the par-5s, there were only two eagles all day. Gabriel Hjertstedt carded one on the fifth hole and Mike Weir managed the other on the 18th. Weir finished in a tie for 17th with a 3-over 76. Hjertstedt came in tied for 24th with a 5-over 78.
World-wide event
It is interesting to note that nine of the field's 30 contestants were born outside the United States. This is no longer a game played by Americans only. The nine foreigners are Mike Weir (Canada), Paul Lawrie (Scotland), Stuart Appleby (Australia), Carlos Franco (Paraguay), Parnevik (Sweden), Vijay Singh (Fiji), Hjerstedt (Sweden), Steve Elkington (Australia) and Ernie Els (South Africa.Two of the four Grand Slam winners were foreign-born. They are Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, who opted to skip this event, and British Open winner Lawrie. U.S. Open champ Payne Stewart would have been at the Mercedes as well, but he died in a plane crash late last year.
By Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin
