Glover, Riley Lead at PGA; Woods, Mickelson 3 Behind (Update10)...
Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Lucas Glover and Chris Riley share the lead after the opening round of the PGA Championship, with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson three strokes behind.
Glover and Riley each shot 6-under-par 66 at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago to lead Billy Andrade by one at the year's final golf major tournament.
Woods and Mickelson, ranked as golf's No. 1 and No. 2 players, struck 3-under 69 while paired together for the fourth time at one of the four majors. U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy, who completed their group, also made 69.
Davis Love, the 1997 PGA Championship winner at Winged Foot in New York, held the lead at 7-under before getting a triple bogey on the par-3 17th. He finished at 4-under.
After hitting his tee shot into the deep rough, Love missed the ball on a chip attempt. He put his third shot into the bunker, blasted onto the green and two-putted for a six.
``I was just in one of those bad lies,'' Love said in a televised interview. ``I was just trying to get too cute with it. Other than two or three swings, I played really well.''
Glover missed the halfway cut in three of his previous six events and said he's been too worried about making the U.S. Ryder Cup team. The 26-year-old from South Carolina is currently 14th in the Ryder Cup standings, with the top 10 automatically earning berths on the team.
``I made up my mind this week that I was going to be a kid again,'' Glover said at his post-round news conference. ``To have fun and laugh off bad shots.''
Feeling Good
Riley, who hasn't had a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour in the past two years, is only in the tournament because he was a member of the 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup team.
``I felt really good coming into the event,'' Riley, 32, said at a news conference. ``Over the last year I haven't been playing good, but over the last two months I've really been playing good and getting no result.''
The 42-year-old Andrade, who made the tournament field two days ago as the seventh alternate, is at 5-under after a bogey- free 67.
``For me, I guess it was perfect,'' Andrade said of his lack of preparation. ``I was nice and fresh. I don't think I could have played any better.''
Love, Stewart Cink, Robert Allenby, J.J. Henry, Luke Donald and Henrik Stenson are all 4-under. Nine players, including Shaun Micheel, whose only win came at the 2003 PGA Championship, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood join Woods and Mickelson at 3- under.
`Soft Enough'
Woods, who has won his past two tournaments, including the British Open, started with a bogey at the par-5 10th and birdied three of his next five holes. He added another birdie at the par-5 seventh hole, his 16th.
``This golf course is playing soft enough right now that you can make quite a few birdies out there,'' Woods said at his post-round news conference.
Woods has won the last six major tournaments in which he's opened with a round in the 60s. The 30-year-old is seeking his 12th major, while Mickelson, 36, has won three majors.
Mickelson, the defending PGA champion, started with consecutive birdies. He then made eight straight pars before bogeying the par-3 second hole and getting birdies at the fifth and seventh holes.
`Enjoyable'
``It's very enjoyable,'' Mickelson said of playing alongside Woods. ``He's in his own world. We take care of our games and our business. It's a fun day and we shake hands afterwards. We both played okay today, but we both had chances to go a little lower.''
The PGA of America, which hosts the tournament, traditionally places the defending champion with the British Open winner and the U.S. Open title holder.
Billy Mayfair, Fred Funk, Tim Herron, Jonathan Byrd and Harrison Frazar are also at 3-under. Ogilvy, who beat Mickelson by one stroke at the U.S. Open in June, had seven birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey.
Retief Goosen, Michael Campbell and Jim Furyk were in a group of 19 players to finish 2-under. |
