Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Here comes Tiger

SANDWICH, England -- After losing his ball, Tiger Woods quickly found a spot on the British Open leaderboard.

Woods birdied two of his first four holes today, closing in on leader Davis Love III as the field began to sort itself out at Royal St. George's.

Woods contending in a major? That's no surprise.

But it was amazing how quickly he returned to contention after an awful start.

On Thursday, the world's top player knocked his very first shot into the rough -- and never found the ball. He wound up taking a triple-bogey 7, putting himself in a deep hole before he barely had time to say fish and chips.

But Woods bounced back, making two late birdies for a 2-over-par 73. He was five strokes behind Hennie Otto, an obscure South African who had to play a 36-hole tournament earlier in the week just to qualify.

Woods, trying to snap an 0-for-4 slump in the majors, surged past Otto and a bunch of other players Friday. At No. 2, he stuck a wedge within 2 feet of the flag and sank the birdie putt. He then reached the green in two at the fourth, a short par-5, and two-putted for another birdie to reach even par.

Otto, a part-timer on the European tour, didn't do well with the lead. He was 5 over through 15 holes, replaced at the top by a more familiar name.

Love, who has never seriously contended in his favorite major, managed to avoid major mistakes on the quirky links near Sandwich Bay. He didn't have a bogey until No. 10, when he needed to make a nice up-and-down from a deep pot bunker to avoid losing another stroke.

Love, winner of the 1997 PGA Championship, shook it off at the 11th, rolling in an 10-footer for his third birdie of the day to get back to 4 under.

Love shot 69 in the first round, one of just five players to break par. Greg Norman also had a 69, but he wasn't following up his surprising performance.

Norman, 48, playing just his third tournament of the year on the same course where he won the 1993 British Open, had bogeys on three of the first six holes. He's been bothered by a sore back.

By mid-afternoon, the only players breaking par were Love, Thomas Levet of France and S.K. Ho of South Korea. Levet was 2 under, with Ho another stroke back after briefly going as low as 4 under to seize the lead.

Levet was turning in another impressive performance at the British Open, where he lost to Ernie Els in a five-hole playoff last year.

And Els? He recovered from his worst round ever at the British -- a 78 -- and will get a chance this weekend to defend his title.

He still has a lot of work to do, but Els is at least back on track at Royal St. George's after shooting 68.

"I have a smile on my face," he said after getting a hug from his 4-year-old daughter, Samantha. "I worked very hard. I played very well in stages. I've got to get the putter a little warmer, but I'm not complaining."

Els has shown a penchant for regrouping. At the Masters in April, the South African opened with a 79, shot 66 the next day and wound up finishing sixth.

"I've got to play well, and hope for the best," he said.

Otto, a part-time player on the European tour, began to fade with a double bogey at No. 9. He drove into the rough, came up well short of the green with his second shot, then flew a wedge over the green.

Ho is playing his first British Open, as well. Asked if he knew anything about the Japan Tour regular, Els shook his head and turned to look at the scoreboard.

"He's got a shorter surname than me," Els said.

Taking advantage of the calmer morning conditions, Els left himself with makable birdie putts on the first seven holes. Only two of them dropped in the cup, costing him a chance to go even lower.

At No. 7, especially, Els was kicking himself. A booming tee shot left him a short iron to the green, but he chunked the ball into the front bunker. Clearly disgusted, he stood in the middle of the fairway with a hand on his hip.

Forced to settle for par, Els threw the putter underhanded to his caddie, who managed to snag it with one hand.

"You always think you can do better," he said. "But my patience level was pretty good. It's easy to lose it after a hole like that, but I stayed with it."

Phil Mickelson, still trying to win his first major, signed for a 72 that left him with a 4-over 146 midway through the tournament.

Before Otto teed off, Scott McCarron actually held a share of lead at 3 under. The American opened with two bogeys, then birdied five of the next seven holes to make the turn with a 33.

The back nine was ugly, however. McCarron bogeyed three holes before a triple-bogey 7 at the 17th, where he got caught in the rough, then shanked a wedge that flew right at a nearly 90-degree angle and rolled behind a grandstand. He finished with a 74.

"I played some good golf. Just one hole," said McCarron, who has missed the cut in half of his 18 PGA Tour events this year. "I'm actually glad I got away with a 7."

But that's the way it goes at the British Open.

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