LOS ANGELES, 19 February 2005 — Tiger Woods tossed his putter some 40 feet at his bag after going from the right fringe to the left fringe and making bogey. He took an angry swing after missing a short birdie putt. And he ended his round watching two putts burn the edge of the cup.
He still managed a 4-under 67, leaving him two shots behind Brian Davis of England after the first round of the Nissan Open. Despite his career struggles at Riviera, Woods had a hard time finding the bright spot in what turned out to be a rainy day.
“I putted like a fool today,” Woods said. “It was an absolutely horrific day on the greens. But I’m hitting it great. If I would have just putted normal today, I probably could have shot an 8 under with not too much effort.”
Davis made it around without too much effort. The 29-year-old Englishman began with a 4-iron into 4 feet for eagle on the par-5 first, finished with eight pars and signed for a 65 to take a one-shot lead over Luke Donald, Darren Clarke and Brett Quigley.
The Nissan Open had a British feel in other areas — particularly the leaderboard.
Donald, another young Englishman, made three straight birdies on his back nine — twice with 30-foot putts — and was tied for the lead until his tee shot on No. 9 landed in a divot near the bunker, and he placed his approach into a bunker to close with a bogey. Clarke is from Northern Ireland, and he got off to another strong start with one of several highlights in the first round at Riviera. Adam Scott, Jose Coceres, Kevin Sutherland and two-time defending champion Mike Weir joined Woods at 67, while the group at 68 included two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal and Steve Elkington, who won the 1995 PGA Championship at Riviera.
Thongchai Stays on Track in Malaysian Title Defense
In Kuala Lumpur, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee produced a stunning finish of three closing birdies en route to a six-under-par 66 as his title defense of the Malaysian Open stayed firmly on track yesterday.
The Asian Tour number one has a two-round score of 14-under-par at the Saujana Golf and Country Club and leads by two strokes from birthday boy Thomas Bjorn, who charged into contention with a flawless 64. Prom Meesawat, crediting his strong run on tips from his father, gave Thai golf fans another reason to cheer with an impressive 65.
to share joint third place on 11-under-par 133 with Swede Henrik Stenson.
Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez was tied fifth on 135 while Irish star Padraig Harrington was a further two strokes back in the jointly sanctioned Asian Tour and European Tour event.
Thongchai turned in one under before showing why he was Asia’s undisputed golfing king with another breathtaking exhibition of golf on the inward nine.
He birdied the 11th and 13th from five feet before producing some sparkling shots over the closing holes.
On the par three 16th, which he aced in the final round during last year’s triumph, Thongchai struck a magnificent six iron which hit the flag before stopping a foot from the hole.
At the next, he punched a shot from a poor lie to tap-in distance before setting up another easy birdie at the closing par-5.
Thongchai, who has shot 30, 31 and 31 on the back nine in his last three rounds here, said: “The front nine is always quiet for me. I always can’t shoot a score there but it’s a bit different on the back nine.
“There are a lot of chances there, some short par fours and birdie opportunities on the par fives,” he added.
Bowditch leads Jacob’s Creek Open by five shots at halfway
In Adelaide, Australia, Australian Steven Bowditch led by five strokes at the halfway stage of the Jacob’s Creek Open golf tournament at Royal Adelaide yesterday.
Bowditch, 21, who was joint leader after the opening round of the co-sanctioned US second-tier Nationwide Tour tournament, posted his second successive five-under-par 67 in light morning conditions to move to 10-under 134 after 36 holes.
His lead was four shots when he finished his round about midday but regular downpours and gusty winds throughout the afternoon made life hard for his would-be challengers and his buffer was five shots by day’s end.
Former Australian Open champion Greg Chalmers was one of six players tied in second place on five-under-par, after a see-sawing one-under-par round of 71 yesterday.
Chalmers and Bowditch were the only Australians in the top 10 on an American-dominated leaderboard.
American Chris Tidland moved into contention with a four-under 68 to join Chalmers and four other Americans, Keoke Cotner (69-70), Dan Olsen (69-70), Brent Schwarzrock (70-69) and Brian Kortan (69-70).
Bowditch started his second round on the tougher back nine, which he completed in even par, with two birdies and two three-putt bogeys, the bogeys coming on the difficult par-414th and the par-3 16th.
