Woods Takes Early Lead on Mickelson at Doral

**SWFlaGolfer** · 03-04-2006 , 09:59 AM

Woods Takes Early Lead on Mickelson at Doral

MIAMI, March 2 -- With the last of his eight birdies at the 16th hole, Tiger Woods opened the Ford Championship exactly where he was at the end of last year's event: one stroke ahead of Phil Mickelson. Woods, the defending champion, shot an 8-under 64 in Thursday's first round, one stroke better than Mickelson and five other players on a sunny South Florida day at Doral Resort and Spa.

A year after Woods overcame a two-stroke deficit during a final-round duel between two of the world's most popular players, the two made 15 birdies between them. Many other players also turned the so-called Blue Monster into a docile kitten, with an average score of 70.3 for the entire field, the lowest first-round average on the course since the tour started keeping records in 1983. Mickelson, who made seven birdies and no bogeys, was tied with former Kemper Open champion Rich Beem, tour rookie Camilo Villegas, a long-hitting native of Colombia, and journeymen Ryan Palmer and Mark Wilson.

Ninety-seven players in the starting field of 144 were under par, and 116 were at par or better on a day of mid-80s temperatures, minimal winds and soft, receptive greens on a course that usually depends on breezy conditions as its primary defense. Ten men in the field also played bogey-free golf.

"That's normally not how this golf course plays," Woods said. "Usually you're just trying to somehow fit a ball in there to some of these corners. Today, you're just throwing it right at [the flag], and it's going to plug and it's no big deal. You know that with these greens being this smooth, good putts go in."

Woods, who is 23 under in his last three competitive rounds at Doral, acknowledged he had one of his best all-around ball-striking and putting rounds of the young season, hitting all but two fairways, reaching 14 greens in regulation and needing only 26 putts. He also holed a 25-foot chip for birdie at the 175-yard 15th to get to 7 under. A five-footer for birdie at the 372-yard 16th gave him the outright lead.

Still, his most breathtaking shot came early, when he launched a 4-iron off the tee at the 236-yard No. 4. The ball thudded down about six inches from the cup and came to rest about a foot from the hole for a tap-in birdie, his third over the first four holes.

"I wasn't trying to hit it over there, though," Woods insisted. "I was just trying to put the ball in the middle of the green, and it kind of started a little further right than I wanted to. But it ended up okay."

Woods and Mickelson said they knew when they began play at the same 12:24 p.m. tee time on different sides of the course they would have to go low to keep up with the morning leaders. Villegas posted his 65 with an early start, as did all five players in with 6-under 66s, including David Toms. Vijay Singh, the No. 2 player in the world rankings, had a 67 in the morning, going birdie-eagle-birdie on his final three holes.

"As an amateur, I'm thinking, 'There's no way, how do you do that?' " Woods said when asked how he deals with starting a round knowing so many low numbers are already on the board. "Playing out here with experience, you flip it around and say 'You know what? If he can do it, I can do it.' It can be had if someone is going low. You look at the board and say, 'There must be something to it; the golf course must be playing easy.' "

Woods and Mickelson had no way of knowing early on how each of them was doing because their names did not get up on leader boards all around until they were each playing their final nine holes.

"It seems as if this guy Tiger seems to play well every day, every week," Mickelson said. "I'm just trying to keep pace. I'm trying to maybe have another shot at dueling with him on Sunday, and I'm glad he's playing well. . . . I was walking up my 17th hole and saw that he was 8 under and I was trying to get one on the last hole to pull even. I couldn't quite do it."
Mickelson also had a bogey-free round, hit 10 of 14 fairways and reached 14 of 18 greens in regulation. He only needed 25 putts, and very nearly had a chip-in for birdie at the 560-yard No. 8. Mickelson almost chipped in from 30 feet for birdie last year at the 72nd hole against Woods, and his 30-foot attempt at the eighth Thursday hit the edge of the cup, then lipped out and stopped a foot from the flag.

"To be honest, I thought it was going to run a good five or six feet past the hole," he said. "It was a good break, and I had a tap-in par."

Mickelson and Woods each had 27 birdies a year ago at Doral, and Mickelson said he had no problem with the PGA Tour setting up the course to allow so many low scores.

"I think it's great," he said. "There's nothing wrong with letting us make a few birdies now and then. Just because there's not any wind doesn't mean that we should go out and make ridiculous pins and trick up the course. It's a very fun test of golf."

03-04-2006 , 09:59 AM	#1
SWFlaGolfer Admin Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Southwest Florida Posts: 125 Rep Power: 10	Woods Takes Early Lead on Mickelson at Doral Woods Takes Early Lead on Mickelson at Doral MIAMI, March 2 -- With the last of his eight birdies at the 16th hole, Tiger Woods opened the Ford Championship exactly where he was at the end of last year's event: one stroke ahead of Phil Mickelson. Woods, the defending champion, shot an 8-under 64 in Thursday's first round, one stroke better than Mickelson and five other players on a sunny South Florida day at Doral Resort and Spa. A year after Woods overcame a two-stroke deficit during a final-round duel between two of the world's most popular players, the two made 15 birdies between them. Many other players also turned the so-called Blue Monster into a docile kitten, with an average score of 70.3 for the entire field, the lowest first-round average on the course since the tour started keeping records in 1983. Mickelson, who made seven birdies and no bogeys, was tied with former Kemper Open champion Rich Beem, tour rookie Camilo Villegas, a long-hitting native of Colombia, and journeymen Ryan Palmer and Mark Wilson. Ninety-seven players in the starting field of 144 were under par, and 116 were at par or better on a day of mid-80s temperatures, minimal winds and soft, receptive greens on a course that usually depends on breezy conditions as its primary defense. Ten men in the field also played bogey-free golf. "That's normally not how this golf course plays," Woods said. "Usually you're just trying to somehow fit a ball in there to some of these corners. Today, you're just throwing it right at [the flag], and it's going to plug and it's no big deal. You know that with these greens being this smooth, good putts go in." Woods, who is 23 under in his last three competitive rounds at Doral, acknowledged he had one of his best all-around ball-striking and putting rounds of the young season, hitting all but two fairways, reaching 14 greens in regulation and needing only 26 putts. He also holed a 25-foot chip for birdie at the 175-yard 15th to get to 7 under. A five-footer for birdie at the 372-yard 16th gave him the outright lead. Still, his most breathtaking shot came early, when he launched a 4-iron off the tee at the 236-yard No. 4. The ball thudded down about six inches from the cup and came to rest about a foot from the hole for a tap-in birdie, his third over the first four holes. "I wasn't trying to hit it over there, though," Woods insisted. "I was just trying to put the ball in the middle of the green, and it kind of started a little further right than I wanted to. But it ended up okay." Woods and Mickelson said they knew when they began play at the same 12:24 p.m. tee time on different sides of the course they would have to go low to keep up with the morning leaders. Villegas posted his 65 with an early start, as did all five players in with 6-under 66s, including David Toms. Vijay Singh, the No. 2 player in the world rankings, had a 67 in the morning, going birdie-eagle-birdie on his final three holes. "As an amateur, I'm thinking, 'There's no way, how do you do that?' " Woods said when asked how he deals with starting a round knowing so many low numbers are already on the board. "Playing out here with experience, you flip it around and say 'You know what? If he can do it, I can do it.' It can be had if someone is going low. You look at the board and say, 'There must be something to it; the golf course must be playing easy.' " Woods and Mickelson had no way of knowing early on how each of them was doing because their names did not get up on leader boards all around until they were each playing their final nine holes. "It seems as if this guy Tiger seems to play well every day, every week," Mickelson said. "I'm just trying to keep pace. I'm trying to maybe have another shot at dueling with him on Sunday, and I'm glad he's playing well. . . . I was walking up my 17th hole and saw that he was 8 under and I was trying to get one on the last hole to pull even. I couldn't quite do it." Mickelson also had a bogey-free round, hit 10 of 14 fairways and reached 14 of 18 greens in regulation. He only needed 25 putts, and very nearly had a chip-in for birdie at the 560-yard No. 8. Mickelson almost chipped in from 30 feet for birdie last year at the 72nd hole against Woods, and his 30-foot attempt at the eighth Thursday hit the edge of the cup, then lipped out and stopped a foot from the flag. "To be honest, I thought it was going to run a good five or six feet past the hole," he said. "It was a good break, and I had a tap-in par." Mickelson and Woods each had 27 birdies a year ago at Doral, and Mickelson said he had no problem with the PGA Tour setting up the course to allow so many low scores. "I think it's great," he said. "There's nothing wrong with letting us make a few birdies now and then. Just because there's not any wind doesn't mean that we should go out and make ridiculous pins and trick up the course. It's a very fun test of golf."