Round-Up – World Challenge first round
It was an overcast day on Thursday, as the 18-man strong field took to the Sherwood Golf Club. Nick Watney was the leader on day one, as he carded a bogey free round of five-under, 67 to lead the World Challenge by two strokes.
"I'm very pleased to be at five under," Watney said. "I'm definitely happy to be on top".
It was a magnificent performance by the American. Carding a flawless round is always a morale booster. Watney was fairly comfortable on the course, as he played a very calm and composed round, whereas others were not very comfortable.
The trio of Keegan Bradley, Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell are all tried on the second spot, two behind the leader Watney. They shot an average round of three-under, 69 on a course where they should be shooting low rounds.
Bradley’s round was impressive, considering his off the course problems. USGA has now announced that rules are being amend to ban the use of belly putters and, by 2016, anchoring will be outlawed from the game of golf.
"I have been catching such flak on Twitter and these other places, it would be good to kind of quiet them a little bit," Bradley said. "I had a guy yesterday telling me to send my application in to Burger King for 2016".
This gives the players like Bradley, Simpson and Ernie a bit of headache. They initially said that they might take a legal action but they have a weak case against it.
Tiger Woods was not in his range either, as he carded an average round of two-under, 70. He was not hitting the ball as well as he would have liked to. Nevertheless, he is still in contention for his sixth World Challenge title.
Woods said, "I didn't hit the ball very good today and made a few good par putts to keep the round going. I kept myself in the tournament — could have easily shot myself out".
Brandt Snedeker, who was very upbeat before the tournament, had a poor day, as he carded a pathetic round of three-over, 75. It was just not Snedeker’s day at the Sherwood Golf and Country Club.
Matt Kuchar did not have a very remarkable day as well, as he carded one-over, 73. He is currently six shots behind the leader and a mammoth effort will be required to win the tournament.
Hunter Mahan seems to have recovered from his Ryder Cup disappointment, as he carded one-under, 71. A victory at the Sherwood Golf Club will certainly raise Mahan’s morale.
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