Woods three back after strange opening round
Updated: March 18, 2005, 4:01 PM ET
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Joe Ogilvie started in the rain and finished in the cold, a first round at the Bay Hill Invitational that took him more than 24 hours to complete but eventually left him in the lead Friday.
Ogilvie, coming off a playoff loss last week at the Honda Classic, finished with a 4-under 68 and had a one-shot lead over Briny Baird and Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland. Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, in a marquee group that included U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, each had 71.
Because of rain that washed out all but three hours Thursday, the first round was not completed until Friday afternoon, and the second half of the field had to turn around and keep playing until dark. Ogilvie was not expected to start his second round until 6 p.m., enough time to squeeze in a couple of holes.
That means most of his first 36 holes would be playing in the morning, when conditions typically are the best.
"You could get a bad end of the draw and you can get a good end of the draw. I turned out to have a great end of the draw," Ogilvie said. "Hopefully, we'll have a normal finish Sunday."
Baird did not start his first round until Friday and got to 4 under until missing the seventh green to take bogey. McDowell also had it to 4 under, but dropped a shot on the par-3 17th.
Greg Owen of England, in the final group of the first round, was tied for the lead until hitting his approach into the water on the 18th. He made double bogey and was in the large group at 70 that included Sergio Garcia, Kenny Perry and Mark Calcavecchia.
The strange conditions at Bay Hill even had Tiger Woods and Ernie Els baffled.
Woods had a chance to tie for the lead during his round, but his 8-foot putt on the 13th hole caught the right edge of the cup and spun away. He was 3 under at the time and seemingly in control. But Woods had to make a 6-footer for par on the 18th to avoid a bogey-bogey-bogey finish.
Els was five shots behind Woods after an ugly bogey on the par-5 12th. He made up those five shots in five holes, but not before the South African was so disgusted with his putting that he flung his ball into the water on the 13th. He finally got a few to drop and wound up tied.
Vijay Singh had to make a 6-foot bogey putt on the 18th for a 72.
Woods, Els and Singh each can become No. 1 in the world ranking by winning Bay Hill.
Goosen hit two balls out of bounds -- one on Thursday, one on Friday -- in his first round and wound up with a 78. Goosen was so sporadic that he didn't hit a par 5 in regulation until the last one, No. 16, and even then just barely. His second shot started to roll into the water until it stopped in the wet grass.
The most bizarre moment belonged to Mark Hensby. He was 9 over for his round when he hit out of bounds on the 18th. Instead of reloading, he packed it in. The Aussie walked the rest of the hole with Andre Stolz and Mike Weir without hitting another shot, and was disqualified for not finishing the 18th hole.
The PGA Tour has been packed with great tournaments and quality winners, although weather is emerging as a theme every bit as prominent as Woods, Singh and Phil Mickelson dominating early.
When nearly 2 inches of rain Thursday afternoon suspended the first round after just three hours, it marked the sixth tour event this year where a round was halted because of weather. Worse than the rain, temperatures were in the mid-40s when the early starters returned to resume the first round.
The lost time will lead to a marathon finish.
The 36-hole cut will not be made until Saturday afternoon. Groupings for the final round will not be determined until late Sunday morning, and threesomes will go off both tees the rest of the week.
"I could have gone 4 or 5 under par, but it could have been worse," Woods said. "I could have bogeyed the last hole. At least I gave myself something positive going into my 7:10 tee time."
Woods, Els and Goosen were to start their second round just after 7 p.m., but since the sun goes down about 6:30 p.m., they'll probably start up a little after 7 a.m. Saturday.
The scoring was unusually high considering that rain tends to make the greens soft, allowing players to take aim at the flags. Woods and Els both said the greens were slower than usual, making it tough to get the right speed.
Els could attest to that.
After knocking a 40-foot birdie putt about 10 feet by the cup on the No. 12, he missed it coming back for a bogey. Then he didn't have enough pace on a 12-foot birdie try on the 13th, leading him to toss the putter cover at his caddie, and toss his ball into the pond.
"I played a little better, but I couldn't make any putts until the last couple of holes," Els said. I've got to be pleased with that."
Woods figured to tie for the early lead when he stepped to the tee on the par-5 16th, the easiest hole at Bay Hill. But his drive went left, through a bunker and into deep grass framing the sand. From an awkward stance, he punched into deeper rough, then hammered an 8-iron over the water from 173 yards.
Par seemed safe until a 40-foot putt from the fringe ran some 10 feet by, and he missed his par putt. Then, he three-putted from 25 feet on the fringe at No. 17.
Still, he was right in the hunt. And like Ogilvie, he got the best end of the draw.
Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press
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