CROMWELL, Conn. - Fears that Suzy Whaley would have the worst score in the opening round of the Greater Hartford Open were unfounded.
That distinction belonged to slumping PGA star David Duval.
Whaley shot a respectable but ultimately out-of-contention 5-over 75 Thursday. That was good enough to win over the hometown galleries but not the 137 men ahead of her on the leaderboard.
"I am extremely proud of the way I played. I'm proud of the way I hung in there," said Whaley, the first woman to qualify for a PGA event since Babe Zaharias in 1945. "I had more fun than I thought I would. It was harder than I thought it would be, which is hard to believe, but the experience was absolutely more than I could have ever imagined."
Whaley double bogeyed the first hole, then settled down for her only birdie of the day on No. 18. After her 37-foot putt from the fringe banged in off the pin, she raised her arms triumphantly and slapped hands with her caddie.
"I wanted to make a birdie so much today. I knew 18 was my last shot, but that putt is brutal," she said. "I had a fleeting moment of, "Just feed it up there, get your par and get out of here.' But, you know what, I'm a little too competitive for that."
The putt brought roars from the gallery and smiles from her playing partners, though it meant one of them, Anthony Painter, would finish below her. That put him in the company of 12 others - including Duval, the 13-time tour winner and 2001 British Open champ who shot 83, and 1987 U.S. Open winner Scott Simpson (77).
Peter Jacobsen and Jay Haas led at 7 under. The 36-hole cut is projected at even-par 140.
Unlike Annika Sorenstam, whose appearance at the Colonial was controversial among some of the male players, Whaley was overwhelmingly welcomed.
Duval, who has missed the cut in 12 of the 16 events he has played this year, approached Whaley on the putting green before the round and wished her good luck.
"He introduced himself, which I thought was kind of funny because obviously I knew who he was," Whaley said. "He told me to enjoy it and have a great day. I mean, I can't say enough about the PGA Tour players."
Watson bests Bear again
TURNBERRY, Scotland - Tom Watson won his rematch with Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry links, but could not shake Tom Kite. Watson extended his string of low scoring in majors with 4-under 66, sharing the lead with Kite in the Senior British Open.
Twenty-six years after beating Nicklaus by one at Turnberry in one of most dramatic finishes in the British Open, Watson squared off against the Golden Bear in the opening round.
Nicklaus, 10 years older and hampered by persistent back trouble, shot 70 while Watson overcame wayward tee shots to finish with five birdies. Kite made up for double bogey at No. 1 with two birdies on the front nine and birdies at Nos. 17 and 18.
Watson arrived at the newest major on the Champions Tour in outstanding form despite not winning a tournament this season.
In the past month, Watson shot 65 at the U.S. Open, 66 at the U.S. Senior Open, 64 at the Senior Players Championship and 69 at last week's British Open.
Watson conceded that 66 was a result of great recovery shots following poor play off the tee.
"I kept yanking it left, yanking it left. It was a very worrying start," said Watson, whose 1977 victory was the second of five British Open titles. "How do you shoot a 66 when you hit the ball like that? I made three fairways. How's that for a round off the tee?"
EVIAN MASTERS: Rosie Jones closed with two birdies for 4-under 68 and a one-shot lead after the second round of the LPGA event in France. Defending champion Annika Sorenstam struggled to 73 and was tied for 34th at 1-over 145.
"This is obviously not where I want to be," Sorenstam said. "Sometimes you just need some breaks to get a momentum going, and I'm not getting any."
Jones was 9-under 135, a stroke better than rookie Lorena Ochea (70). Overnight co-leader Juli Inkster (72) and Sophie Gustafson (67) were tied for third at 136.
U.S. GIRLS' JUNIOR: Morgan Pressel, 14, of Boca Raton beat 13-year-old Michelle Wie 3 and 2 in the third round at Fairfield, Conn. Defending champion In-Bee Park of Eustis advanced with a 5-and-4 victory over Whitney Wade.
IRISH OPEN: Four days after his final-round collapse at the British Open, Thomas Bjorn set a course record with 8-under 64 in the European Tour event at Portmarnock. The previous record was 67, shared by several players.
RYDER CUP: Bernhard Langer, a two-time Masters champion, was named captain of Europe's team over Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle. Hal Sutton will be the U.S. captain when Europe defends the Cup at Oakland Hills Country Club outside Detroit in September 2004.
