Golf

Three tied atop Western

It all finally clicks for Ben Curtis, who missed his past three cuts.

By wire services
Published July 1, 2005

LEMONT, Ill. - Ben Curtis' game is starting to come around, just in time for the British Open.

The 2003 British Open champ shot a bogey-free, 7-under 64 Thursday, giving him a share of the lead at the Western Open with Jim Furyk and Todd Fischer. The score was one shy of the course record, and gave the trio a two-stroke lead over former Western champ Robert Allenby, Harrison Frazar and Chad Campbell.

"I made it very simple on myself, didn't get in any trouble off the tee with the thick rough," Curtis said. "I just played very solid. ... Everything clicked together today."

Fan favorite John Daly, playing his first Western since 1996, finished at 2-under 69 after almost holing his second shot on the par-4 18th.

Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh didn't look like the top two players in the world. Woods, who couldn't get the ball close to the pin all afternoon, shot a 2-over 73 and has some work to do to make the cut. Singh shot 72.

After missing the cut at the past three tournaments, Curtis spent last week at his home in Stow, Ohio, playing a couple of rounds at different courses.

Somewhere along the way, things started to click. He was playing better, giving him more confidence.

That confidence carried over to his round Thursday. On the first hole, the par-4 No. 1, he put a 9-iron within an inch from 140 yards out. He made a nice run on the back, picking up five strokes in a six-hole span. He birdied the par-3 12th and par-4 14th, then eagled No. 15.

He used a 3-wood to get within 12 feet from 240 yards out, then made the putt. He followed with another birdie on 17, making a 20-footer that went into the hole as if it was on a track.

"I'm still a long ways away from playing really good golf," he said. "It's coming, but I'd like to put four good rounds together instead of one or two. That's the key thing right now. No expectations for this weekend, just go out there, try to play good golf and see what can happen." LPGA: Annika Sorenstam overcame an early deficit to beat Joanne Morley 2 and 1 in the first round of the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship at Gladstone, N.J.

"I had a little difficulty with the speed of the greens," Sorenstam said. "I thought they were quite slow after the rain yesterday. ... Coming from really fast greens to really slow was tough. They are in good shape. I just got to hit the putts a lot harder."

Sorenstam pulled ahead with a two-putt par on the par-4 13th, increased her margin to two holes with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th and parred the 16th and 17th to end the match.

The Swedish star will face 32nd-seeded Tina Barrett - a 5-and-3 winner over Young Kim - in the second round. The tournament will then turn into an endurance test in the sweltering conditions, with the third round and quarterfinals set for Saturday and the semifinals and final Sunday on Hamilton Farm's hilly Highlands Course.

Second-seeded Cristie Kerr also advanced, beating Lindsey Wright 2 and 1. Third-seeded Lorena Ochoa dropped out, falling 2 and 1 to No. 62 Laurie Rinker. Fifth-seeded Natalie Gulbis and the sixth-seeded Birdie Kim also were eliminated, with each falling 1-up on the par-4 18th hole after their opponents hit approach shots within short birdie range. European Solheim Cup player Sophie Gustafson holed a 2-footer to beat Kim, and Marisa Baena knocked out Gulbis with a 3-foot putt.

MONEY: Jack Nicklaus will be featured on a 5-pound ($9) note to be issued by Royal Bank of Scotland to commemorate his last appearance as a professional golfer in the British Open at St. Andrews.

The U.K.'s second-largest bank by assets, which sponsors the 65-year-old, will release the note on July 12, two days before the 134th Open Championship. No living person other than a member of the British royal family has ever appeared on a Scottish or English banknote.

EUROPEAN OPEN: Trevor Immelman, a two-time winner in 2004, shot a 6-under-par 66 to take a one-stroke first-round lead at the K Club in Ireland, the venue for next year's Ryder Cup.

[Last modified July 1, 2005, 01:24:21]