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5 tie for lead at Bay Hill with 66

The eighth hole is key as it favors co-leader Grant Waite and dooms Tiger Woods to triple bogey.

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 16, 2001

ORLANDO -- He had six birdies, a share of the lead in the Bay Hill Invitational with a bogey-free 66, but the thing that really pumped up Grant Waite was the par he made on the eighth hole Thursday.

With a hot wind blasting through the 7,207-yard, par-72 course, sometimes par is cause for celebration.

"That was more exciting than any birdie I made," said Waite, who joined Phil Mickelson, Mark Calcavecchia, Dennis Paulson and early riser Steve Pate atop the leaderboard.

No. 8, a 459-yard hole that features a sharp dogleg to the right and a green protected by water in front and a bunker behind it, is the same hole Tiger Woods wanted to curse.

Two strokes out of the lead with two holes to play, Woods made triple bogey on the most difficult hole, wound up with 71 and stormed off without comment.

It was his first triple bogey in 1,201 holes on the PGA and European tours, dating to the third hole in the third round of the U.S. Open, which he won by 15 strokes.

There might not be that kind of separation by anyone at Bay Hill.

The average score in the first round was 72.689, the highest on tour this year. Only 21 players managed to break 70.

Mickelson, playing the second of five straight tournaments that will take him through the Masters, ripped a 3-iron from 198 yards out of the rough and through the 20-mph gusts to about 8 feet on his last hole for his ninth birdie of the round.

"I'm not going to complain," he said. "I'm not disappointed I had three bogeys. I made a lot of birdies and played well today."

Calcavecchia bounced back quickly from his disappointment in the Honda Classic Sunday, when a three-putt from 50 feet on the final hole cost him a chance to get into a playoff with Jesper Parnevik.

He birdied three straight holes on the front nine Thursday and hit his approach to about 2 feet on the 18th for 66. Four groups earlier, Paulson made bogey on the same hole and dropped into a tie for the lead.

Pate had the best of conditions, teeing off first in a twosome with Stephen Ames when clouds hovered and rain came down for about 20 minutes. The wind didn't start picking up until he nearly was finished.

"I love it ... other than the fact I had to get up at 5 a.m.," Pate said. "For nine holes the greens didn't have a mark on them. It was the best time I could have gotten."

That much was evident by the scores. The wind shooed away the rain clouds, but also dried out the course and wreaked havoc on club selection as the round went on.

It was no surprise then that the five leaders all had morning tee times, as did the players right behind them -- Lee Janzen, Jeff Sluman and Scott McCarron at 67.

The best score among afternoon starters belonged to 1996 Bay Hill champion Paul Goydos, who had 68 to join a large group. Greg Norman, in his first PGA Tour event this year, had 69.

Six players failed to break 80, including Darren Clarke (80) and tournament host Arnold Palmer (85).

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