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CARNOUSTIE - No sooner had Seve Ballesteros taken his final curtain call than fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia was hogging the major golf championship spotlight with a six-under-par 65 in the British Open first round on Friday (NZ time).
Garcia, who shed tears after slumping to rounds of 89 and 83 when the Open was last held at Carnoustie in 1999, reeled off seven birdies to charge two strokes clear of Irishman Paul McGinley on a cold, wet day on the east coast of Scotland.
"It is not about revenge for me," Garcia told reporters. "I just want to play solid.
"I got off to a great start, hit two really good shots at the first and got my round going. When I rolled the birdie putt in there, I turned to my caddie and said, 'at least that's four shots better than last time'."
Tied for third place on 68 were New Zealand's Michael Campbell, Markus Brier of Austria, US Open champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina, 18-year-old British amateur Rory McIlroy and American Boo Weekley.
Campbell sank three long birdie putts, then hit a wonderful approach to 3 feet at the tough 17th hole for his final birdie. He's eager to show that his 2005 US Open win at Pinehurst - when he held off Woods on the final day - wasn't a fluke.
"Setting the goal of winning a major was probably a mistake," said Campbell, who made a bold fashion statement in a pink shirt.
"I should have said majors (emphasising the plural)," Campbell added.
New Zealander Steven Alker was in a provisional tie for 76th after carding a three-over 74 which included two birdies and five bogeys.
A prowling Tiger Woods veered from the ridiculous to the sublime as he joined four players on 69.
Three days after five-times major winner Ballesteros announced his retirement at the age of 50, Garcia, 27, showed he was ready to usher in a new era.
After going out in a two-under 34, the Ryder Cup player rattled in four birdies in five holes from the 10th.
His first bogey came at the short 16th but another birdie on 17 was followed by an excellent up-and-down from a greenside bunker for a par four at the last.
"This is what the doctor ordered," said Garcia, still waiting to achieve his first win in a major.
"I just want to put in two or three solid rounds and give myself a chance on Sunday."
World No 1 Woods, aiming for a hat-trick of claret jugs, made the crowd gasp in disbelief when he rolled in a 90-foot birdie putt at the short 16th.
"I just made a nice shoulder turn, released it and it went in the hole," said the 31-year-old American.
The long, tramlining effort no doubt came as something of a surprise to Woods, who had earlier profited from a bizarre ruling at the par-four 10th.
Woods' tee shot landed in rough near television cables and he was notified he could drop without penalty before even reaching it. His ball found a much more favourable lie and the 12-times major champion made par comfortably.
"It was a weird drop," said Woods. "I was as surprised as anybody. Usually TV cables are movable but they deemed it immovable. I've never seen that ruling before."
David Rickman, director of rules for organisers the Royal & Ancient, refuted the suggestion officials were "scared" of Woods.
"I've not met any rules official who is scared of any player," said Rickman. "My understanding of it was the cables were not movable hence he (the rules official) was correct in his ruling."
McGinley, after spending months in the doldrums, found the key to an improved swing with an hour or so to go before teeing off.
"I found the swing key on the practice ground this morning, there's no doubt about that," said the 40-year-old Ryder Cup player.
"Something that I worked on before in my swing sort of clicked into place and I was able to go with it and get a great start."
Among the other highlights on Thursday was Briton Lee Westwood (71) holing his second shot for an eagle two at the 472-yard 15th.
Former champion John Daly enjoyed a brief spell at the top of the leaderboard when he pitched in for an eagle two at the 11th. But the American's form completely deserted him over the closing holes as he finished with a 74.
Fellow countryman Todd Hamilton, who won this championship in 2004, went round in 81 while three-time winner Nick Faldo had a 79.
- REUTERS
