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Woods Trails Norman at Windy British Open

Posted on: Thursday, 17 July 2003, 06:00 CDT

Tiger Woods lost his ball Thursday on his very first shot at the blustery British Open, then pulled himself together to make two late birdies for a 2-over-par 73 at Royal St. George's.

But Woods has some work to do to catch Greg Norman. The Shark turned back the clock for a 69, rekindling memories of his '93 British Open championship on this same course near the English Channel.

Norman was one stroke behind South Africa's Hennie Otto, who had to play two rounds at the beginning of the week just to qualify. Playing in the first group of the day, Otto sank several long putts for a 68.

American Chris Smith and England's Bradley Dredge also were at 3 under, but both had 11 holes to play on the treacherous links layout.

Norman was joined at 69 by Davis Love III.

Overnight rain softened the turf, which was baked by a sweltering sun earlier in the week. The sun returned in the afternoon and the wind kicked up, quickly drying things out again.

"On a golf course like this, with the wind blowing as hard as it is, it really tests you," Woods said. "You just have to stay calm, bear down and try to hit every shot."

Woods drew all the attention, since he's gone 0-for-4 in the majors over the past year, leaving him without a major title for the first time since 1999.

The world's best player pushed his opening tee shot into the ankle-deep rough along the right side of the fairway. About 25 people scoured the grass, but they couldn't find the ball.

"Did you guys see where it went?" Woods asked futilely.

When the five-minute time limit expired, he pulled his driver out of the bag again, unleashed an expletive and hopped in a cart for the long, lonely ride back to the tee.

His next shot - actually, his third after taking a one-stroke penalty - wasn't much better, sailing into the same rough where marshals were still looking for the first ball.

This time, Woods didn't have any trouble locating the ball, but all he could do was hack it through the fairway, winding up near some television cables on the left side.

Woods finally reached the green with a wedge, but an 18-foot putt came up short. He tapped in for a triple bogey and walked off the green muttering to himself.

Woods ran into another tough stretch beginning at No. 12, where an attempt to escape a deep pot bunker caught the embankment and ricocheted straight left. He wound up making the first of three straight bogeys.

But birdies at 15 and 16 stemmed the damage.

"If I can drive it a little bit better, I like the way I'm playing overall," Woods said. "I hit some good drives coming in. That's a good sign. Hopefully it will carry into tomorrow's round."

Ernie Els, hoping to become the first repeat winner at the British in 20 years, teed off in the afternoon, knocking his first shot into the left rough. But at least he found his ball.

No one had a more miserable experience at the first hole than Jerry Kelly.

The American yanked his tee shot into the left rough, where his second attempt to get it out flew into the tall grass on the right side. From there, he hacked at the ball four times without success, finally taking a one-stroke penalty for an unplayable lie.

After the drop, Kelly's ninth shot flew over the green, then he chipped to 25 feet. He rolled in the long putt for 11, drawing a big cheer from the crowd.

"Go get 'em, Jerry!" someone yelled.

Kelly smirked and said quietly, "Yeah."

"It was a little surreal," he added after finishing with an 86. "My eyes were spinning."

Norman certainly feels comfortable at Royal St. George's, where he captured his second British Open title a decade ago by shooting a final-round 64.

The 48-year-old Shark hasn't won a tournament since 1998 and back problems have limited him to just two PGA Tour events this year. He was feeling no pain on this day, making an eagle at No. 4 and scrambling to keep his score low.

At the eighth, after burying a shot in thick rough, only the name on his ball was visible. But a flop shot barely cleared the ridge and rolled to within 8 feet of the flag. The putt spun all the way around the rim before dropping in to save par.

"I'm delighted with my score," Norman said. "I am very relaxed and putting well, considering this is only the third golf tournament in a year. I'm very satisfied."

Tom Watson, the 53-year-old five-time British champion and last back-to-back winner, was 3 under with two holes to play. But a double-bogey and bogey left him with a 71.

"That was an ugly finish," said Watson, who has missed the cut four of the last five years. "You've got to put it in play on those two holes. I didn't and I paid the price."

Last month, Watson shot a 65 in the first round of the U.S. Open, inspired by his longtime caddie, Bruce Edwards, who has been diagnosed with deadly Lou Gehrig's disease.

Edwards did not make the trip to England.

"His spirit is with me," Watson said. "A couple of times out there, I was thinking, 'How would Bruce read this putt?' It helped me."

If Watson's early play was a surprise, Otto's start was shocking. He's never won in four years on the PGA European Tour; his best finish this year is a tie for 17th in the South African Open.

"You've got to relax and take what the course gives you," said Otto, who teed off at 6:30 a.m.

The course gave David Duval another miserable score. The 2001 British champion extended his mystifying slump with an 83.

Woods hasn't won a major since his U.S. Open victory at Bethpage Black 13 months ago, but it's not as if he was struggling. In his last tournament, he blew away the field in the Western Open for his fourth victory of the year.

Els, who beat three others in a playoff to win at Muirfield last year, is coming off a victory last week in the Scottish Open. He'll try to match Watson, who won his last two British titles in 1982-83.

Woods, meanwhile, was hoping to join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the career Grand Slam at least twice.

The way things started, it won't be easy.

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