pgatour.com Conditions couldn’t have been more perfect if you’d ordered them off a menu.
The rain that softened and lengthened the course on the practice days blew out and the wind died down in the opening round, leaving a course that has been labeled the toughest in America and “too hard for stroke-play competitions” vulnerable to a boatload of under-par scores.
Only Royal Lytham & St. Annes yielded lower first-round numbers in this year’s majors.
Carl Pettersson who lives just up the road in NC, a winner earlier this year at Hilton Head, got the best of the weather on a steamy day on the Ocean Course and didn't waste the opportunity. He made three birdies in four holes, never dropped a shot and wound up with a 6-under 66 for a one-shot lead.
McIlroy, Gary Woodland, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain and Alex Noren of Sweden each had 67.
It was a good day for Tiger Woods, nothing more. Despite having to get up-and-down for bogey on three holes, he made enough birdie putts for a 69, a reasonable start as he tries to end the longest drought of his career in the majors. This is his 14th major since he won his last one in 2008, and the last one of an otherwise good season.
He had plenty of company, some players who had not been heard from in a while, others that were all too familiar. Woodland, who started the season with a new coach (Butch Harmon) and injured himself working too hard on the changes, is feeling better and hitting it longer than ever.
John Daly made an eagle on the par-5 11th hole and was in the group at 68 that included former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and defending PGA champion Keegan Bradley, who had a birdie-eagle start before he settled into his round.
The group with Woods at 69 included Ben Curtis, Ryo Ishikawa of Japan and Pat Perez, playing his first major this year. Phil Mickelson, holding down the eighth and final spot in the Ryder Cup standings, was all over Kiawah Island and did a remarkable job scrambling to salvage a 71.
The flags started to ripple in the afternoon, though not enough to make Kiawah as frightening as it can be. With so much rain over the last week, including storms that limited practice time before the championship began, the greens were soft and fairways slow.
“Geez, I’m playing with Keegan (Bradley) and he’s 3 under through two,” said Tiger Woods, who finished the day 3 under 69. T14. “You look up on the board and some guys are 4 under through six; a bunch of guys 3 under through five; a couple of them 3 under through three. It’s one of those days where everybody is going to shoot 6, 7, 8 under par.”
Bradley, who as I said finished 4 under 68 T6, was equally thrilled with the conditions, the calmest anyone can remember in an area where the wind can blow upwards of 30 miles an hour. “It’s relatively soft because of the rain,” the defending champion said. “But it’s very playable. If you hit the ball in the fairway, you can make a lot of birdies … The weather cooperated for us in the morning, so we couldn’t ask for much more than that.”
The wind picked up slightly in the afternoon and changed directions from what players experienced in the practice rounds, but everyone agreed that Thursday was the day to post a number. When conditions are perfect, they have nowhere to go but down. “I’m expecting this to be the best day of the week; I think everyone is,” said Rory McIlroy, who got out at 8:10 and finished before the first breath of wind whistled in from Charleston. “We know that there’s going to be a bit of wind coming in and maybe a bit of bad weather. It’s just something that you’re going to have to deal with. I’m just happy that I got off to a great start.” ( T2 -5 67)
On a day of poetic justice when our Canadian women, so badly jobbed vs the USA, won their coveted bronze medal today at the last gasp when they beat France 1-0, wouldn't it be something this week if Adam Scott were to end up the winner.. He is in the pack at -4 68, in fact you have to go all the way down the leaderboard to T32 to get to even par..
The weather forecast has changed according to TNT, who say the wind will be at 20 -30mph Friday and Saturday although the official Weather Network forecast is still no higher then 15mph SSW and damn near benign on Sunday..
round 2 tee times http://www.pga.com/pgachampionship/scoring/teetimes
for leaderboard click here http://www.pga.com/pgachampionship/scoring/leaderboard
Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles and at www.isr1050.com and hosting daily at www.nextsportstar.com
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