James' superb play in the wind leaves peers amazed  PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator SAVANNAH, Ga. -- He was oh-so-close, but Mark James couldn't quite beat the course record at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf during the first round on Friday.  Mark James was temporarily 7 under at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa. (Chris Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage) That's OK, though. He already owns it. James shot 64 in the final round of the 2006 tournament at Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa. Not enough for him to win last year, but he still tied for 13th after early rounds of 76-73. On a surprisingly brisk and windy April morning, he played well enough in tough conditions to take the early lead and never gave it up, finishing the first round at the top of the leaderboard. Five birdies, an eagle and a hot putter put James at 7 under through 14 holes, which at the time put him six strokes ahead of the field. Bogeys on No. 16 and 17 knocked him back to 5 under, giving him a score of 67 for the day. "Fortunately, I sort of woke up in Loren Roberts' body today and that was great," said James. "I holed a few good ones for birdies. On the back nine, it warmed up a bit and I played more consistently." Some of the other players in the field were impressed with James' performance, especially since he teed off in the height of the windy conditions. "Nick Price talked to Mark's caddie when we made the turn and said, 'Which holes did you skip?' so I figured he was pretty low," said defending champion Jay Haas, who wound up just one back of James and tied for second with Tom Purtzer and Tom Kite. "I couldn't have imagined finishing one behind him at that stage." Purtzer joked that James' score left him a bit confused at first.  Jay Haas shot 68 for his 14th round in the 60s in 2007. (Chris Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
"I saw that he had gotten to 7 under and I thought he must be playing in the team (competition)," Purtzer said, referring to the Raphael Division, where separate Champions Tour players ages 50-69 compete in pairs in a 36-hole, best-ball format on Friday and Saturday. With a score that low on the board, Purtzer noted that players may take a few more chances in hopes of catching up. "Seven under after 14 holes on a day like today was spectacular golf," he said. "For a European player, this was a nice day [weather-wise]. For those guys, they are kind of right at home." Despite hailing from England, where cloudy and breezy days can be more common than not, James isn't normally a player who enjoys gloomy weather. "I'm not a great wind player. The front nine was cold, so I had a mitt on until 13 today. Getting through the front nine was the hardest time," said James, who still overcame that cold to finish the first nine holes at 3 under. He's not a fan of cold on the golf course, but he's certainly a big fan of the ski slopes. James skied last week in the Alps, but unseasonably warm weather made it less enjoyable than usual. The native of Manchester, England, began skiing in 1993 and looks forward to hitting the slopes, even after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee while skiing in France that forced him to get arthroscopic surgery in 2004. "The last two seasons it's been really cold in April [in the Alps] and snowed," said James, who had hoped for better conditions. At least "there's only eight months until next season." It must be déjà vu for James, who could be experiencing the same good karma that occurred when skied for three weeks with his family before taking the course in this year's Allianz Championship. In early February, James notched his third Champions Tour win at the Allianz Championship in Boca Raton, Fla., taking a two-stroke victory over Haas. The 53-year-old James played the European Tour from 1976-2003, with 21 professional wins and 564 appearances on that tour. He tied for eighth in the 1995 British Open, considered his best PGA TOUR finish. A member of the Champions Tour since 2004, James won one of the Tour's five majors at the 2004 FORD SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, as well as the 2005 ACE Group Classic. James' win this season, coupled with two other top-25 finishes in 2007, was enough to place him at 16th in Charles Schwab Cup points despite having played just four events. He's off to another good start this week and is just two solid golf rounds away from earning more points in that season-long competition that rewards top-10 finishes. And even though today he let a near record-tying round get away from him, there's no sense in dwelling on what might have been. "I was starting to swing it really well toward the end and wouldn't have been surprised to be at eight or nine under. I was putting well. That's typical golf, I went into reverse. My swing was starting to feel really good, but that's how it goes." Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
