Golf

Bay Hill's tough conditions test world's best golfers

Six at 3 under matches highest opening-round score to lead PGA event.

By BOB HARIG, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 21, 2003

ORLANDO -- As he walked toward Bay Hill's 18th green early Thursday afternoon, Tiger Woods was greeted by a 9-year-old girl who came bounding out of the crowd to present him with an American flag.

Although unusual, it was nothing new here for Woods, who almost knows Lisa Peon by name.

"She usually gives me flowers in the pro-am," Woods said. "She's just a little sweetheart."

As if on cue, Woods then walked onto the green and drained a 12-foot birdie putt, turning a lackluster round into 2-under-par 70 that turned out to be an excellent score on a tough first day of the Bay Hill Invitational.

Just ask Ernie Els, Woods' chief rival and the subject of much pretournament discussion since the duo would be competing in a stroke-play tournament together for the first time in 2003.

Els got no such love from Peon as he approached the green, but he already had been afforded his good fortune.

His approach shot at the 441-yard, par-4 18th barely cleared the pond that fronts the green, bounded off the rocks and came to rest directly to the left in a bunker. From there, Els managed to get up and down for par.

That meant 2-over 74, his worst score by seven shots this season on the PGA Tour.

Els could look at it two ways. He was tied for 42nd. Or he was just five shots out of the lead.

"It was a tough day," Els said. "It blew pretty hard out there. The greens were unbelievable. They are really firm and it was a great test of golf. I hung in there. It was probably the toughest course I've played all year, put it that way."

The six players who shot 3-under 69 matched the highest opening round to lead in the event's 25 years.

Stewart Cink, Jonathan Kaye, J.L. Lewis, Jeff Maggert, Aaron Baddeley and TrevorImmelman were the only players to break 70. Immelman of South Africa was the only one to do so in the afternoon when the wind picked up and greens became harder.

"It was tough out there, it really was," said Woods, who is bidding to win this tournament for the fourth consecutive year. "The wind is gusting, it's getting pretty hard to shoot a good number. The greens are firming up. They are still a touch on the slow side, but they are definitely drying out. The greens should be awesome by the weekend."

That's when everyone expects a Woods-Els showdown to materialize. Els started the season by winning the first two PGA Tour events in Hawaii, never shooting higher than 67 in eight rounds.

He then went on to win two European events played in Australia and added runner-up finishes in Singapore and Dubai.

Woods, who missed the first five weeks of the season while recovering from knee surgery, has won two of his three starts and finished fifth in the other.

"It would be nice if it were the last round and they were together," said Brad Faxon, who shot 70 and, along with Woods, was in a six-way tie for seventh, a shot back. "A lot has been made of Ernie's great start and Tiger's great start, and I'm sure everybody wants to see the two of them paired together for the last round.

"It's been so hyped up and they have only played together one time. I think the golf world probably wants to see that. Everybody wants to see someone take on the favorite in every sport. Right now, Ernie is that guy."

But Els had his moments when it appeared he wouldn't be that guy. He managed to get through the first 13 holes in 1 under.

Then he ran into trouble at the 206-yard, par-3 14th. His tee shot found a bunker, and he barely got his second shot out of the sand. From there, he chipped to 4 feet, a seemingly simple bogey putt. But he missed. And then he missed the 21/2-footer coming back. He finally made a 3-footer for a triple-bogey 6.

"I started practicing my putting out there on 15," Els quipped.

He birdied the 16th but followed with bogey at the 17th before hitting into the rocks at 18.

"That sums it up, really," he said of the final hole. "I hadn't got the ball close all day and I had 165 (yards) there. The wind was blowing all day and I guess it calmed down on my second shot. It looked good in the air but it came up short. It could have gone in the water. I made 4, so I guess I got away with something there."

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