Golf: Champions set cracking pace on opening day

Tiger Woods

AKRON, Ohio - There were no post-major letdowns from Tiger Woods or Vijay Singh yesterday when the world's two top golfers carded matching four-under-par 66s at the US$7.5 million ($10.9 million) World Golfing Championships NEC Invitational.

The pair share the first-round lead with unheralded Swede Henrik Stenson on the Firestone Country Club's South Course. Michael Campbell was six strokes back after opening with a round of 72.

Building on the momentum from a strong fourth placing at the PGA Championship last week, Woods launched his bid for a fourth title here with a flawless opening round.

Singh returned an equally tidy scorecard that included a single bogey, but Stenson, playing in just his second event in the United States, had a more adventurous day, mixing seven birdies with three bogeys to get his 66.

Only 12 players in the elite 72-player field managed to scrape in under par.

Lurking one stroke back on 67 are Briton Nick Dougherty and Americans Davis Love and Chris DiMarco, who lost in a playoff to Woods at the Masters this season.

Spain's Sergio Garcia and Australians Stuart Appleby and Nick O'Hern sit two shots adrift on 68 while PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson, Chris Riley and Britain's Luke Donald all finished on 69.

Playing the back nine first, Woods got his round off to a quiet start with one birdie on his outward nine.

But the world No 1 roared into the turn with consecutive birdies on the first and second holes then closed out his round in style with another birdie at the ninth to get to four-under.

Woods' blistering start was in sharp contrast to a week ago at the PGA Championship when he stumbled to a five-over 75, his worst opening score at a major in relation to par since he turned professional in 1996.

Woods professed a liking for the South Course.

"We don't get a chance to play courses like this very often where it's an old school course, where it's right in front of you, no tricks, no hidden agendas, no elephant burial grounds.

"It's just a golf course that's right in front of you and it's difficult."

Having clinched his second career major three days before after dangerous weather pushed the final round of the PGA Championship into an extra day, Mickelson only arrived in Akron yesterday evening following a whirlwind victory celebration.

The left-hander showed no signs of a hangover, keeping himself in contention by producing a steady round that included three birdies and a pair of bogeys.

"What I like is, I feel very confident with how I'm playing," Mickelson said.

"I'm trying to take that momentum and carry it over here to Firestone and the reason I like playing here so much, right after last week, is it's a very similar set-up.

"The style of shots and the shot value and the quality and the level you have to play is very similar to last week at Baltusrol.

"I'm trying to take that momentum and very similar gameplan and carry it over."

- REUTERS