Woods, Mickelson Take Charge

On a day when Tiger Woods barely got a drive past the ladies’ tee, he still had enough Thursday to join defending champion Phil Mickelson atop a star-laden leaderboard at the World Series of Golf in Akron, Ohio.

“Hey, man, the ladies’ tees are way out there!” a grinning Woods said after a reporter chuckled as he described his round.

A wet course and strong crosswinds played havoc with the shots of some of the finest players in the world in the winners-only tournament at Firestone Country Club.

Only 14 of the 46 players broke par and the field had 126 birdies to 171 bogeys and eight double-bogeys. There were just two eagles.

Jeff Sluman was forced to hit a 4-wood as his third shot into the 625-yard “Green Monster” 16th hole. Because of heavy rainstorms both in the morning and mid-afternoon, players reached for long irons far more than short ones.

“This course was a lot longer than it was yesterday,” said Woods, who shot a 3-under 67 for his share of the top spot.

Just a shot off the lead was a star-studded group of six that included U.S. Open champion Ernie Els; Davis Love III, fresh from winning the PGA Championship; Greg Norman; Nick Price; Mark O’Meara; and John Cook.

Nick Faldo, winner of six grand slam events, including three British Opens, was at 3-over 73 along with reigning British Open champion Justin Leonard.

Vancouver Open

Tom Byrum, who set the course record in last year’s final round, lowered it to 8 under par 63 to take a one-stroke lead over Payne Stewart and Len Mattiace in the opening round of the $1.5 million Greater Vancouver Open in Surrey, British Columbia.

Jeff Hart, Mark Weibe, Andrew Magee and Skip Kendall shot 65s.

Former Pullman native Kirk Triplett was five shots back after a round of 68.

European Open

Colin Montgomerie shot a course-record 8-under 64 in the opening round to take a one-stroke lead in the European Open in Dublin, Ireland.

Montgomerie’s round featured eight birdies, the last coming on the par-5 18th, which put him ahead of Sweden’s Niclas Fasth and England’s Steve Richardson.

Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain kept alive his chances of qualifying automatically for the European Ryder Cup team by shooting 3-under 69.

Compaq Open

Nancy Lopez, playing for the first time in Sweden since 1982, shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 and took a one-stroke lead over Annika Sorenstam after the first round of the Compaq Open in Stockholm.

Sorenstam is a two-time U.S. Open champion and ranked No. 1 in the world.

Lopez’s score was the lowest ever on the Osteraker Golf Club course.

Sorenstam’s sister, Charlotta, one of the top rookies on the LPGA Tour, shot a 70 and was tied for fourth. Karen Pearce of Australia was third after a 69.

U.S. Amateur

U.S. Junior Amateur champion Jason Allred of Ashland, Ore., lost his third-round match on the final hole by pulling a 2-foot putt. It lipped out, enabling Robert Gerwin of Cincinnati to win the hole with a bogey and post a 1-up victory in the U.S. Amateur at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Ill.

Joel Kribel of Pleasanton, Calif., survived an extra-hole match in the morning, then crushed his opponent in the afternoon to advance to the quarterfinals.

Kribel, a junior at Stanford, who won the 1996 Western Amateur, advanced to the semifinals of last year’s U.S. Amateur. He lost there to schoolmate Tiger Woods.