IRVING, Texas, 15 May 2004 — Tiger Woods turned in another wayward display off the tee, but still climbed within a stroke of the lead after the opening round of the Byron Nelson Championship on Thursday.
Woods hit less than half of the fairways, but more than made amends with a hot putter to card a five-under-par 65 at the Four Seasons TPC. The world’s top-ranked player shared third place with Dudley Hart.
Peter Lonard of Australia and American J.L. Lewis set the pace with 64s, although both played at Cottonwood Valley, which averaged more than a stroke easier than the host course. Defending champion Vijay Singh of Fiji started with a 68, while South African star Ernie Els and Masters champion Phil Mickelson of the United States shot 69 as all of the big guns kept themselves in the running.
Woods, who used his putter just 24 times, showed for the second week in a row that he can still put together a score without driving well. Last week in Charlotte, he was all over the map, but still came up only one shot shy of the playoff.
Woods took the opportunity to deny that his relationship with instructor Hank Haney amounted to anything other than an occasional tip. Haney, he insisted, is not his coach.
Old Asia Hand Dyson Stays on Top
In Shanghai, England’s Simon Dyson, trying to make up for a seven-week absence after an accident playing tennis, kept control of the $1.5 million BMW Asian Open yesterday with an accomplished 69.
Dyson, the top ranked player on the Asian Tour in 2000 when he won three times, opened up a two-shot halfway lead over Ryder Cup stars Miguel Angel Jimenez and Paul McGinley.
Former world No. 1 Greg Norman, known as the ‘Great White Shark’, had less bite than during his opening 67 and settled for a par 72 to lie four behind Dyson. Local hope Zhang Lianwei is tied with Norman in eighth place after a 69.
Spain’s Jimenez, chasing his third victory of the year, shot a bogey-free 66 to equal the course record. Jean-Francois Lucquin of France also tied the course record to jump into joint fourth spot.
Ireland’s McGinley, who holed the putt that won the Ryder Cup for Europe in 2002, had three birdies in the opening seven holes and then parred home for a 69. South Korea’s Choi Kyung-ju, a two-time winner on the US PGA Tour who is making a rare appearance back in Asia, complained of jetlag after slumping to a one-over-par 73 for a total of 140 (67-73).
World No. 8 Padraig Harrington of Ireland shot his second successive level par 72 to trail Dyson by nine strokes.
LPGA Veteran Scranton Leads the Way
In Franklin, Tennessee, in the absence of Annika Sorenstam and Se Ri Pak, 43-year-old Nancy Scranton grabbed a one-stroke lead Thursday with a 66 at the Franklin American Mortgage Championship.
Scranton is one of the oldest full-time members of the LPGA Tour, but it looked like she was in her prime as she birdied the final two holes of a bogey-free round at the Vanderbilt Legends Club’s damp Ironhorse Course.
With Sorenstam and Pak taking the week off, Stacy Prammanasudh and Candy Hannemann grabbed their share of the spotlight. Prammanasudh ended the day a stroke off the pace, with Hannemann sharing third, two shots back. It was the best round of the year for Scranton, who has won just once in the last 11 years. Before Scranton’s late birdie run, Prammanasudh earned the clubhouse lead with a five-under-par 67. She had the early lead a month ago at the Takefuji Classic.
