Golf in the US
Tom Watson putted like his old self to move within one stroke of leader Robert Friend after the opening round at the $2.5m Byron Nelson Classic in Dallas yesterday.
Watson, who compiled seven birdies and one bogey for six-under-par 64 at Cottonwood Valley, the easier of the two courses used for the event. said: ''My round was characterised by great putting. I missed only one makeable putt and turned a 67 into a 64. My long putting was good and I made a lot of three, four and five-footers.''
Watson, winner of eight major championships, including five Opens, used to be arguably the world's best putter, but he struggled through most of the 1990s after developing the yips. He has turned his form on the greens around this year by taking a slower backswing and trying to accelerate through the ball.
''My stroke is smoother and success breeds confidence,'' said the 48-year-old. ''You can't have confidence without success.''
He had little inkling that he would putt well when he started the year in Phoenix, but he finished equal second there, then came outright second in Hawaii a few weeks later. His only missed cut for the year came at the Masters, and he is a healthy twenty-fifth on the money list.
Friend, meanwhile, carded 63 at the Las Colinas TPC host course to lead by one stroke from fellow Americans Watson and Harrison Frazar, while Tiger Woods was two shots behind. Defending champion Woods was only one under at the turn at Cottonwood Valley, but he started his move with an eagle at the par-five eleventh, where he hit a four-iron to 15 feet.
Woods and nearly everyone was bothered by a smoky haze that has hung over the city the past few days. The smoke has drifted on the wind hundreds of miles from Mexico and it has blocked out the sun, creating a surreal atmosphere. Woods said: ''It feels real ashy, like sandpaper in your eyes.'' Leading scores (US unless stated):
63 - B Friend
64 - T Watson, H Frazar
65 - B McCallister, T Woods, S Gump, F Lickliter, B Bates
Other notables: 66 - P Mickelson, F Couples; 67 - J Daly, M O'Meara; 68 - J Leonard, K Nolan (Ireland); 69 - E Els (South Africa), T Lehman, T Kite; 70 - N Price (Zimbabwe), R Coughlan (Ireland); 71 - M Calcavecchia.
qErnie Els, beginning to focus on his upcoming defence of the US Open championship, anticipates an Olympic Club clash next month among golf's young titans.
Els would not be surprised if the 20-something gang that has dominated the big tournaments - led by 1997 Masters champion Tiger Woods, reigning British Open champion Justin Leonard and leading money winner David Duval - wind up at the centre of the chase for golf's next major crown.
''Obviously, Tiger is the guy out there leading the way,'' Els said from Dallas this week in a video-conference call to promote the defence of his Buick Classic title at Westchester Country Club the week before this year's June 18 US Open in San Francisco. Woods, at 22, has both image and substance in line just now as he leapfrogged Els into the top spot of the world rankings following his victory last week in the BellSouth Classic.
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