Golf: Tremendous birdie sets up early Els lead

ST ANDREWS - Ernie Els snatched a one-shot lead in the first round of the British Open golf championship yesterday when a rare birdie on the fearsome 17th hole set up the South African for a six-under 66.

That was one clear of hot favourite Tiger Woods and American outsider Steve Flesch, with a group of seven a further shot back on four under.

New Zealanders Michael Campbell and Bob Charles were six off the pace.

Els stalked the early leaders with a solid round helped by four birdies in five early holes.

He looked set for a share of the lead as he teed-up on 17, the world's toughest par four which had yielded only two previous birdies all day.

But a stunning six-iron approach left him a five-footer which he duly bagged.

"It was the best shot I hit all day," he said. "If you make four fours on 17 this week you've got to be happy, so I'm ahead of the game."

Els said he took full advantage of some helpful winds on a perfect day for golf.

"It was a really good front nine and I just tried to keep it up after the turn," he said. "When you see Tiger at five under before you start it gets you thinking about what you have to do."

Such a score looked a long way off for Woods when, playing conservative golf, he managed only pars on the first eight holes before finally picking up five birdies in the last 10 holes.

Defending champion Paul Lawrie shot a disappointing six-over 78, while Scot Colin Montgomerie's quest for a first major title looks destined to continue for a while yet after a stuttering 71.

Campbell buried the ghost of 1995 with an even-par 72.

Five years ago, Campbell led the Open going into the final day before crashing to a fourth-round 76 to tie for third.

"It was good to get that round out of the way today after the last time I was here. I hope I can get on with things tomorrow," he said.

"It was a pretty frustrating day, though, because it was such a slow round. We had to wait 20 minutes at the tee on the fifth, so it was hard to keep concentration.

"But there are only six shots between me and the lead and there's a lot of golf to go in this tournament, so I'm fairly happy."

Charles, in his 33rd Open, sank a 7ft putt on the 18th to finish with an even-par 72 which kept alive hopes of him making the cut for the 21st time.

If he survives the cut it will make up for his disappointing season on the United States senior tour, where he managed only five top-25 finishes in 14 tournaments.

- NZPA