Palmer and Woods. How's that for a leaderboard?
Too bad it's tour rookie Ryan Palmer -- not Arnold -- sharing the lead with Tiger Woods after one round in the Deutsche Bank Championship. The two shot 6-under 65s Friday on the TPC of Boston to take a one-stroke lead over Mark O'Meara and two others.
PHOTO: AFP
"It's been a great ride so far," Palmer said. "It's been everything I expected. It's unbelievable -- a dream come true."
Palmer, who has missed more cuts (13) than he has made (12) this season, is 130th on the money list and hoping to crack the top 125 to retain his tour card.
Woods needs to finish better than a tie for seventh or he will lose his No. 1 ranking to Vijay Singh.
"It's certainly nice [that] ... I don't have to go out there and shoot a round like this just to try and make the cut," said Woods, who has a first-round lead for the first time since he won the 2003 Western Open. He has won eight of the last 10 tournaments when he has led or shared the lead after the first round.
"It's nice to be able to actually get off to a positive start like this," he said.
In its second year, changes to the course have drawn positive reviews from players who complained in 2003 about narrow landing areas in the fairways and severe slopes on the greens. Tournament officials and sponsors are expected to announce over the weekend that they will bring the event back next year.
Woods is a sort of unofficial host of the tournament that benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation, and he has promised to donate his earnings -- as much as US$900,000 to the winner -- to the charity. He makes the same pledge at the Target World Challenge, where he has won and twice finished second.
Woods was having a good day even before he hit the course Friday: O'Meara, Woods' neighbor and tour mentor, was the leader in the clubhouse when Woods teed off in the afternoon.
"Any time you have one of your best buds up there top of the board, it's always cool," Woods said. "Mark, boy, he's been like a big brother, really. To have him basically take me under his wing and show me the ropes of the tour -- I couldn't have asked for a better person to be in my life."
The 47-year-old O'Meara won in Dubai this year but he admitted he didn't figure to be a threat on the 6,674m course. But he has shown that he still has some golf left in him before he makes the turn to the Champions Tour and a life of fly fishing.
O'Meara was tied with Cameron Beckman and Jonathan Byrd at 5 under. Five were tied at two strokes back and Singh was among 10 tied at 68.
Defending champion Adam Scott opened with a 69.
Starting at No. 10, Woods was 4 under on the back nine and 2 under on the front. He didn't make any putts from more than 20 feet, but he drove the ball in the fairway and sank his short putts to convert the birdie chances he had.
While Woods is playing for the No. 1 ranking -- he has held it for a record 264 consecutive weeks -- Palmer is a rookie trying to keep his tour card. He entered the tournament No. 130 on the money list, hoping to improve to the top 125.
Palmer had a pair of eagles, reaching the second green with a 3-iron and sinking a 15-footer. After driving into the left on No. 6 and giving back a stroke, he holed out from a greenside bunker on the seventh hole for his second eagle, then followed that with birdies on Nos. 8 and 9.
European Masters
Sergio Garcia birdied the last four holes for a 6-under-par 65 Friday to take a one-shot lead over fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez after two rounds of the European Masters.
Jimenez, a fellow Ryder Cup member, carded a 67. The third member of the European Ryder Cup team playing in the event, Luke Donald, shared third -- three strokes back -- after a 67. South African Charl Schwartzel was also was three back with a 66.
Two-time champion Eduardo Romero was in a group four strokes back, with defending champion Ernie Els five off the pace after a 67.
The 24-year-old Garcia, who started his round on the 10th, opened with a 1-under par 34 on the first nine. On the second nine, he had five birdies to pull away.
"It's nice to finish the round the way I did, and it's important to play well ahead of the Ryder Cup because it gives you confidence going in," Garcia said.
He said he has learned to hit a dependable fade and a consistent draw as a result of swing changes he made early last year.
"I can hit the draw and I hit some good ones today, but I feel more comfortable with the fade, or cut," he said. He said he cut a 3-wood off the seventh that traveled 370 yards, impressive despite the rarified air in this Swiss mountain resort.
Garcia suggested that Jimenez should skip next week's Lindt German Masters in order to be fresh for the Ryder Cup.
"I don't need people to tell me what to do," he said defiantly. "I am 40 and old enough to know what I have to do."
"I know it is a lot of golf, but if I go home I won't practice. I don't want to be away from the clubs. You need to keep the short game and the feeling for the game."
Romero was content despite a host of missed chances.
"I played very solid, but I missed a lot of good chances for birdies today and I missed a couple short putts for eagle."
"I was concentrated and relaxed and the weather is lovely."
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