Woods struggles at AT&T National, where five share the lead  BETHESDA, Md. (AP) -- Five players share the first-round lead at the AT&T National at Congressional, and tournament host Tiger Woods is not one of them.  Long-hitting Vijay Singh is part of an ecletic leaderboard at Congressional. (Chris Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
• Tiger's Opening Round: Struggles on Green Lead to Uncharacteristic 73
Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, K.J. Choi, Joe Ogilvie and Stuart Appleby each had 66s in Thursday's first round. In all, 28 players were under par on 7,204-yard, par-70 Blue Course that was expected to be a tough test with its high rough and long par 4s. The leaderboard is an eclectic mix of styles, ranging from the long-hitting Singh to older, lay-up players such as 51-year-old Fred Funk and 47-year-old Corey Pavin, who are both one stroke off the lead. In the star partnership of Phil Mickelson (74) and Adam Scott (72), Brad Faxon outshone them both as the third member of the threesome, beating might with accuracy with a steady 69, even as his partners consistently out-drove him. "When they put the deep rough like they have this week, that's my equalizer," Funk said. "The harder the golf course, the better for me in my opinion." Mickelson, who is battling a left wrist injury, was rusty in his first tournament since missing the cut at the U.S. Open. Mickelson didn't wear a brace and blamed two bogeys and a double bogey on his putting rather than his injury. "I was told that it may hurt, but I won't be doing any more damage," Mickelson said. "So I've been going after it pretty good, and it does hurt, but as long as I am not doing any more damage I'm OK." Woods, meanwhile, bogeyed his first two holes. Then came the rain. After a brief delay, Woods continued to be a much more gracious host than he planned. By the time his round was over, he had missed a 2-foot tap-in, hit a man in the face with a drive and tossed his putter in frustration at his bag several times. Woods putted 34 times, including three three-putts, and he missed every attempt longer than 8 feet. "It's one of the worst putting rounds I have had in years," Woods said. At No. 18, his tee shot hit a man in the face and shoulder. Woods gave the man an autographed glove and apologized, then went on to bogey the hole with another miss from 2 feet. The last time Woods played a competitive round at Congressional, he finished 19th at the 1997 U.S. Open. On that Sunday, he finished his round and said: "The suffering's over. This golf course beat me up." Ten years later, he was ready to beat up his putter. "I'm about ready to break this thing," he said. Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. |
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