Surprising starts
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Arnold Palmer, golf’s acknowledged king and undisputed legend-icon-god, got the 2007 Masters Tournament under way Thursday with an early-morning ceremonial drive off the first tee.
Afterward came all the greats of today – Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and others – and the greats of the recent past – Davis Love III, Ernie Els, Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, to name a few.
But standing alone at the top of the leaderboard at 3-under par after the first round of the year’s first Grand Slam were two relative lesser lights: American Brett Wetterich, playing in his first Masters, and Britain’s Justin Rose, playing in his third.
Wetterich, a Cincinnati native, birdied five holes (Nos. 7, 9, 10, 12, 17) and bogeyed Nos. 2 and 15 for a share of the lead.
“This is the biggest tournament in my mind that I want to win,” Wetterich said. “It’s the Masters, and I want to win this golf tournament. To be able to go out and start with a good, solid round, it means a lot to me.”
Wetterich is the first Masters rookie to lead after the first round since Chris DiMarco did it in 2001.
Rose, 26, was born in South Africa but moved to England at age 5. Before the round, he was perhaps best known for tying for fourth as an amateur at the 1998 British Open. He turned professional the next day.
Rose birdied Nos. 3, 5 and 14 to go with 15 pars.
“I was excited for sure, but I felt sort of very, very calm, just knew how much of a long road there was ahead of me,” Rose said. … “I didn’t really get too excited or too down after a good or a bad shot, and that’s the plan for the rest of the week.”
Rose had just 20 putts for the day, only one more than the record set by Mark O’Meara in the third round in 2003.
One stroke behind the leaders were American David Toms and England’s David Howell. Five players finished one stroke behind Toms and Howell.
America’s most prestigious golf tournament began at Augusta National Golf Club on a clear but chilly, 44-degree morning, with little wind.
By afternoon, the temperature was in the mid-60s, but the wind had picked up to 10 to 15 mph, affecting some competitors’ play.
Woods, the No. 1-ranked player in the world and winner of four Masters tournaments, started his quest for No. 5 with six consecutive pars before stumbling at No. 7, and finished bogey-bogey and 1 over for the day, four strokes behind the leaders.
“I just threw away a good round of golf,” Woods said. “I battled all day to get back to level, then I threw it away with the last two holes. So I’m not real happy right now.”
Mickelson, the defending champion, got off to a poor start and was 5 over after seven holes. He finished 4 over.
“I don’t feel I’ve driven myself out of it as even par is going to be in the hunt tomorrow,” Mickelson said. “If I get out and shoot a 68, I’ll be right back in it.”
Mickelson’s wife, Amy, did her part to boost her husband’s spirits, giving him a hug on No. 7.
“It was great seeing Amy out there,” Mickelson said. “A little morale boost to keep me fighting was nice.”
After signing his scorecard for a 4-over 76, Spain’s Sergio Garcia pointed to the afternoon wind: “It was quite gusty. (I) had a couple of wrong clubs because of the winds.”
Among the notables, Love was at even par, former Masters winner Singh was in the hunt at 1 over; former winner Ben Crenshaw was 4 over; Jim Furyk, 3 over; Retief Goosen, 4 over; Olazabal, 2 over; Craig Stadler, 2 over; Fuzzy Zoeller, 2 over; and Els, 6 over.
At 3 over, DiMarco, who played golf for the University of Florida, was trying to give his Gators fans another reason to cheer just days after their basketball team won the NCAA championship.
“I can promise that what the Gators have done the last year and a half has nothing to do with me,” he said.
Gary Player, at age 71, played in his 50th Masters (tying Arnold Palmer’s record) and finished the day 11 over.