Sat, Dec 05, 2009 page18

• Johnson, Poulter share Chevron lead

  • REUTERS
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  Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson charged into a share of the lead in the Chevron World Challenge first round on Thursday.

  In the absence of troubled tournament host Tiger Woods, the straight-hitting Johnson took advantage of ideal scoring conditions to fire a four-under 68 at the Sherwood Country Club.

  Johnson ended a day of dazzling sunshine and hardly any wind level with Britain’s Ian Poulter, who held a two-shot lead over his 17 rivals in the elite field before double-bogeying the last.

  Ireland’s three-times major winner Padraig Harrington opened with a 69 to finish a stroke in front of Americans Jim Furyk and Stewart Cink, and South Korean Yang Yong-eun.

  “I wanted to come here fresh and that I am,” Johnson told reporters after recording birdies on all four of the par-five holes. “I took 16 days off before I hit a ball after [the] Disney [Classic] and most of it was by choice. There were a couple of times I could have practiced, but I just didn’t do it.”

  Poulter, feeling a little jaded after playing in Asia for the five previous weeks, was frustrated by his sloppy finish that featured a wild tee shot into trees and a three-putt on the 18th.

  “It’s four-under-par and I’m disappointed,” said the Englishman, who launched his round with a sizzling burst of five birdies in the first eight holes. “Yeah, I’m leading, but I should have been way clear. I’m hitting my irons very, very well and I’m driving the ball in position. I’m giving myself a lot of chances. This is week six in a row for me, so maybe a little bit of concentration slipping out there on the golf course might be the reason why I made three three-putts today.”

  Poulter, who won his eighth European Tour title at last month’s Singapore Open, said he planned to get plenty of rest.

  “Then I’ll come out tomorrow, hit more good golf shots and attack the flags,” he said. “That’s what I did today, I was attacking the pins.”

  European No. 1 and world No. 4 Lee Westwood briefly held a share of the lead with Poulter at five-under before dropping four shots in the last five holes for a 71.

  The absence from Sherwood of 14-times major champion Woods, who pulled out of the event citing injuries from a car crash outside his Florida home last week, has been a major talking point for the fans this week and Johnson said the atmosphere on Thursday was noticeably different.

  “I think there’s less of a buzz, as chaotic as it really might be if he had been here,” Johnson said. “There’s certainly less media here.”

  ■SUN CITY CHALLENGE

  REUTERS, SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA

  Australian Robert Allenby led the Sun City Challenge by a stroke after a first-round 68 at the Gary Player Country Club on Thursday.

  Allenby carded a bogey-free round, featuring three birdies on the front nine and one on the back.

  After hitting the first shot of the tournament straight down the middle and making a safe par, the Presidents Cup International team member went on to make the most of the par-fives with birdies on the second, ninth and 14th holes. His other birdie came at the par-four fifth.

  “I was playing pretty consistently today,” Allenby told reporters. “I was trying to keep it on the fairway, keep it on the green and make putts. I’m hitting my driver straight and I was definitely happy with the way I played.”

  Home players Retief Goosen and Tim Clark led the challenge to Allenby with both South Africans scoring three-under 69.

  Clark recorded four birdies and one bogey in his round, the high point of which was the 30-foot birdie putt he holed on the 17th.

  “Earlier this week, I didn’t feel good with my game at all, but it was a bit better today,” Clark said. “I’m definitely not driving the ball as well as I could, but I didn’t get in any trouble barring the eighth, where I drove it in the bush. I would have been disappointed with an even-par round today. The pins were fairly generous, so there were birdies out there.”

  Goosen reached four-under with four birdies in the first 12 holes, but the former US Open champion dropped three shots when he bogeyed the 14th and double-bogeyed the 15th.

  He made up for it by holing a sand wedge shot for an eagle on the par-four 17th.

  Last year’s winner Henrik Stenson of Sweden was on two-under with compatriot Robert Karlsson and Hunter Mahan of the US.

  Masters champion Angel Cabrera was the only other member of the 12-man field to break par. He finished with a one-under 71.
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