Tiger Woods shot 6-under 64 on Thursday -- his best round this season -- and shared the first-round lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida, with Vaughn Taylor and Paul Casey.
Woods played his best golf in nearly six months, giving himself a birdie opportunity on all but one hole. He opened with four birdies in the first six holes, missing putts of 3.3m and 4m on the other two.
"It's definitely the best round of the year," Woods said. "I haven't played that many rounds."
PHOTO: AP
The 64 was the lowest opening round at the Bay Hill Club course since Woods shot 64 in 1998. Taylor played bogey-free, picking up birdies on two of the toughest holes, including a 5-iron over the water to 2.6m on the eighth hole.
Casey's only previous trip to Palmer's course was in 2004, when he shot 77 in the first round and withdrew. He also played without a bogey, joining the leaders with an approach into 2.3m for birdie on the 18th.
"Having it played it twice now, I can honestly say I enjoy the golf course," Casey said.
The record for most rounds in the 60s on any day at Bay Hill was 41 in the second round of the 2000 tournament.
With 11 players unable to finish on Thursday because afternoon storms moved into the area, there already were 42 scores in the 60s.
US Masters champion Phil Mickelson didn't have one of them. He hit into the water on No. 8 to take a double bogey and followed birdies with bogeys on his way to an underwhelming 72.
"I scored terribly," Mickelson said. "I scored 2-over on a course with soft greens that wasn't playing very hard."
Woods won the tournament formerly known as the Bay Hill Invitational every year from 2000 through 2003, but after opening with a 67 the follow year, he failed to break 70 his next 11 rounds and was rarely in contention.
He fixed that situation quickly on Thursday morning, even as a strong gust kicked up early in his round.
"I thought it was important for me to shoot at least under par on that front nine and that was all I was concerned about," Woods said.
Sergio Garcia, Trevor Immelman and Sean O'Hair were in the group at 66, while Tampa winner Mark Calcavecchia, Scott Verplank and former Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman were among those at 67. Ernie Els put his tee shot into the water on the par-5 sixth and made double bogey, but steadied himself for a 69.
About the only thing Palmer can do now is pour concrete on the greens.
"The greens were very receptive," Casey said when asked about the good scoring. "If you were in the fairway and had the right club in your hand, you could really attack the flag."
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care