Golf

The 19th hole

By BOB HARIG
Published April 9, 2005

BIRDIES

England's David Howell birdied five of the eight holes he played to move to 5 under par and a share of the lead.

Chris DiMarco finished with a first-round 67 and led after the first round for the second time in five years.

No. 1-ranked Vijay Singh shot his best first round at Augusta National, 68, and trails by one.

Masters officials made a mistake by not paying heed to the weather forecast. Thunderstorms were predicted for Friday afternoon, yet the first round did not resume until 9:45 a.m. Had they started even 60 minutes earlier, the tournament would be in much better shape today.

Tiger Woods didn't exactly finish his first round strong. After birdie at the seventh hole (his 16th) Woods had the par-5 eighth in front of him to get to par. He made bogey and fell to 74, the third straight year he has started over par.

Ernie Els will have to make up a lot of ground if he is to win that elusive green jacket. Els shot a first-round 75 and was eight strokes back.

"All you can do is be ready to play when they tell you to play." - DAVID TOMS, on yet another day of frustrating waits at a tournament delayed by weather.

NOT EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE: As much as he enjoys coming to the Masters, Nick Price does not consider Augusta one of his preferred places. "I really like the golf course, but it's not suited to my style of play," he said. And yet, Price shares the course record of 63 with Greg Norman. Price did it during the third round in 1986, which happens to be the year he had his best finish, fifth. This is Price's 20th Masters, and he has just four top 10s. "The thing that is different about this is having a major that doesn't switch (courses) is very frustrating," said Price, who has won three major titles.

LONGING FOR HOCKEY: Canada's Mike Weir misses the NHL. The 2003 Masters champion noted that the playoffs would have begun next week had the season not been canceled by an owners' lockout and the inability to come to a labor agreement. "This time of the year it starts to get real tough on me," Weir said. "It would be nice to chill out after a round and watch a playoff game. Not getting the chance to unwind like that this year after a round is really going to be tough on me."

Rory Sabbatini's 3 on the eighth hole was the only eagle of the first round, just the sixth time in tournament history there has been a single eagle. The last time it happened was 1970.

According to the PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson is attempting to become the seventh player to win a major championship the week after a victory on the tour. Mickelson won the BellSouth Classic on Monday.

[Last modified April 9, 2005, 07:10:29]