Sat, Sep 30, 2006 page19

• On his own, Woods takes the lead

  • AP
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  Tiger Woods returned to stroke play and shot an 8-under 63 on Thursday to claim a one-stroke lead in the American Express Championship.

  Padraig Harrington, winless in his five matches at the Ryder Cup while coping with the pressure of playing before an Irish crowd, felt more at ease at the Grove on his way to a bogey-free 64, which left him tied with Ian Poulter.

  Stewart Cink and Ernie Els finished at 65.

  Woods did not play the course until a quick practice round on Wednesday morning, but he already likes it.

  "I can see the shots around here," he said.

  Does he love it?

  "A couple of more 63s, and ..." he said, shrugging his shoulders.

  Already, some of his peers figure the course is a perfect fit for him, especially in soft conditions and smooth, quick greens that ran so true Woods twice started walking to the hole before his birdie putt -- or chip, in one case -- had reached the cup.

  "They might as well just change the course's name to `Tiger Woods.' It's a perfect golf course for him," Cink said.

  Woods, who picked up three of five points in the Ryder Cup, hit a 3-wood from 267 yards into 20 feet for eagle on the 18th hole and the first-round lead.

  The first two weeks in England and Ireland have been match play for Woods, and it hasn't been his best.

  He lost in the first round of the World Match Play Championship at Wentworth, ending his five-tournament winning streak. Then he went 3-2 at the Ryder Cup as the Americans were blown out by the Europeans.

  "I only had one bad day -- Saturday morning," Woods said of the Ryder Cup. "Other than that, I played pretty good."

  But he found his stride at this World Golf Championship, where he is the defending champion and trying to stretch his PGA Tour winning streak to six tournaments.

  With crisp irons and one fortuitous break, he scored a 29 on his first nine holes at the spacious resort course north of London. He holed in one putt of about 9m on No. 3 and chipped in from 6m on the par-3 seventh, the start of three straight birdies.

  He made a 3m birdie on No. 8, then got a huge break. His tee shot was sailing far to the right, and looked as though it might go over a slope into thick, knee-high grass, but it hit the back of a television cart and stayed in play. Woods then hit a 7-iron into to about 1m from the cup to make the turn in at 6 under.

  Woods played the first round with Darren Clarke, who had an emotional week at The K Club. He finished a 3-0 week to help lead Europe to victory on Sunday, six weeks to the day that his wife Heather died of cancer. Clarke birdied the last hole for a 68.

  Harrington birdied four of his first five holes and was a constant presence atop the leader board.

  "After the first couple of birdies, it catches your interest," Harrington said. "I'm sure if I started with a few bogeys, I would have found it very hard to stay motivated."

  Woods' momentum slowed on the back nine. He took his first outright lead on the par-5 15th with a 3-wood just short of the green and a chip to about 1m, then gave it back with a mistake on the 17th. He went after a back pin and the ball landed about a yard behind the flag before catching a steep slope and running into the rough. He chipped 15m by the flag and made bogey.

  Woods couldn't reach the 18th in two shots during a practice round Wednesday, but he hammered a driver 100m into a stiff breeze during actual play and his 3-wood never left his bag.

  The 63 was his best start of the year -- he opened with an 8-under 64 when he won at Doral in March -- and matched his best score of the year. Woods closed with a 63 to win the Deutsche Bank Championship early this month, the last stroke-play event he played.

  The American Express Championship comes one week after the Ryder Cup, a draining time for the players from the US and Europe. Results were mixed for those who played. David Howell shot 66, joining Woods, Harrington and Cink among the leaders in the top eight.

  "Thursday seemed to come around very quickly after the shenanigans of Sunday, and more importantly, Sunday night," Howell said. "I didn't feel overly prepared. But I got straight back into the swing of things."

  Among those who failed to break par were Paul Casey (74), David Toms (73) and Colin Montgomerie (72).
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