The Daily Wrap-up, Round 1: Shell Houston Open
HUMBLE, Texas (AP) -- The first round of the Shell Houston Open has been suspended because of high winds.
Half the 72-player field teed off before play was halted for the day in mid-afternoon. The round will resume Friday.
A morning thunderstorm postponed the start of the tournament by 2 hours. Play then stopped because of winds that were strong enough to move balls on the slippery greens before players could mark them.
The National Weather Service measured sustained winds of 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph on Thursday morning.
Lee Westwood shot a 4-under 32 on the front nine to take the lead before the horns sounded across the course. Westwood sank 18-foot birdie putts on the first two holes, then added a 45-footer on the par-3 ninth.
NEW MEANING TO 'TEXAS WIND'
By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
HUMBLE, Texas -- Paul Goydos knew it was time to quit when he saw white caps whipping across the water at the eighth hole.
"I think there was a small craft advisory,'' he said, grinning. "There were waves breaking on the lake."
That might be a slight exaggeration. Then again, maybe not.
What was supposed to be a breezy Texas spring afternoon -- think gusts of 25 to 35 miles an hour -- turned ugly. As in 45 mph body slammers that knocked down fences and sent your basic golf ball in motion -- after it was at a dead stop on the green.
Justin Leonard watched an 8 foot downwind birdie turn into a 6-footer into a stiff headwind -- before he even thought about addressing it. Greg Norman hadn't even gotten to the 18th green when his ball took a 20-foot stroll on it's own -- from above the green to just shy of the fringe.
And, yes, they called the first round of the Shell Houston Open with the sun shining and not a cloud in the sky.
There was no other choice.
A day that started 2 ½ hours late when a pair of rainy storm fronts moved through the area early Thursday morning came to an end around 3 p.m. when the round was suspended for the day. Play was stopped at 12:50 p.m. -- just after Leonard rolled in that 6-footer for birdie to give a new meaning to the term good wind player -- but officials waited to see if the wind would die down.
It didn't.
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Mark Carnevale offers these observations from Thursday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
Delay, delay, delay in Houston, and I'm not talking about former U.S. House of Representative Tom Delay. The players in Round 1faced a 2½-hour rain delay in the morning and then a suspension of play due to the wind conditions at the Redstone Golf Club. I realized that there could be difficult conditions as soon as we went on air at 1 p.m. ET. I was standing near the par-3 16th green and immediately noticed players backing off an inordinate umber of times while preparing to putt. This continued for the next few groups and ultimately the decision was made to suspend play for the time being and eventually for the day.
Surprisingly, there were a number of players who had bogey-free rounds going, including the current leader, Lee Westwood. As a former player who has been through a number of delays during my career, nothing is worse than having play suspended while the sun is shinning. These suspensions and delays will lead to long days on Friday and Saturday. As a player, you have to expect this, be patient, have a game plan and go through your routine.
Players will be allowed to practice, if they choose to, as there is not a dangerous condition present. I would expect to see a slightly different course for the continuation of Round 1 as the rains that occurred Thursday morning, which softened up the golf course, will have been negated by the strong winds Thursday afternoon. Expect Redstone to play firm and fast.
I overheard a number of spectators saying they had played in conditions like this many times and could not understand why the best golfers in the world were not. All I can say is that when you are doing this for a living, it would be a shame to have an outcome determined by an unlucky break of having your ball move on the greens, which in many cases would cause the player to incur a penalty.
FIRST-ROUND NOTEBOOK: SHELL HOUSTON OPEN
By Mark Williams, PGA TOUR Staff
HUMBLE, Texas -- The first round started at 9:50 a.m., 2 ½ hours later than scheduled due to thunderstorms in the area. Play was suspended at 12:50 p.m. due to high winds. At 3:00 p.m. play was abandoned for the day and will resume at 8:00 a.m. on Friday.
• The last time play was suspended due to high winds during play was Round 4 of the 2007 Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head, S.C. Boo Weekley was the eventual winner that week.
• England's Lee Westwood, playing in the third group of the day, is 4 under through nine holes with birdies at 1, 2, 7 and 9. Westwood holds a two-stroke advantage over eight players -- all Americans, except for Charlie Wi (South Korea) who resides in California. No European has ever won the Shell Houston Open.
• Fred Couples, the United States Team Presidents Cup captain, is 1 under through seven holes. The University of Houston graduate is trying to add to his already-impressive record at the Shell Houston Open. After missing the cut here in his first start (1981), Couples has made 15 consecutive cuts, with five top-10s, including an emotional win in 2003.
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KODAK CHALLENGE: The first-of-its-kind competition for PGA TOUR players continues at the Shell Houston Open.
The Kodak Challenge celebrates beautiful holes and memorable moments on the PGA TOUR. The Kodak Challenge offers $1 million to the winner. There will be one designated Kodak Challenge Hole at 24 different PGA TOUR tournaments in 2009, with this week's featured hole the 488-yard par-4 18th.
Players, who must play at least 18 of the holes during the season to be eligible, will count their lowest score relative to par on the Kodak Challenge Hole made during an official competition round. The player, with the lowest cumulative score in relation to par at the end of the challenge, wins.
• For more on the Kodak Challenge, click here.
| This week's Kodak Challenge hole | |||
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