Tiger Woods off the pace at Quail Hollow
Bo Van Pelt led the field after the opening round of the Quail Hollow Championship, on a day when a sickly Phil Mickelson laboured to two-under par - and Tiger Woods put in his worst round for three years, finishing two-over.
Before play began, the tournament at Charlotte, North Carolina had been billed as a battle of golf's two most prodigious talents, Mickelson and Woods set to restage their own clash of the titans. But it was the less famous names who took top billing here, American Van Pelt leading by a stroke on seven-under-par 65 after carding seven birdies on a flawless first day.
Fellow countryman Kenny Perry was close behind on six-under, with a round that included an eagle on the 7th. And Columbia's Camilo Villegas was also in the mix, third on five-under after carding five birdies and no bogeys. Best of the Europeans was Germany's Alex Cejka, among those tied for 15th place on two under.
But what of the big hitters? Mickelson had withdrawn from the pro-am the day before after suffering food poisoning, and the 39-year-old was surely not back to full fitness as he ventured onto the Quail Hollow course yesterday, having required IV fluids from the tournament medical centre before play begun.
Under the circumstances, a round of two-under was perhaps not a bad start, Mickelson shooting five birdies to three bogeys, the last two of which came on the last two holes as Mick visibly tired. Still, that was enough to see the Californian tie for 15th place.
That was a country mile ahead of Tiger Woods, who finished tied for 88th place after a forlorn round that comprised four birdies and the same number of bogeys, plus a double-bogey on the 17th just to really rankle the world No. 1. Woods hit shots into the water, missed umpteen fairways and generally looked out of sorts.
But if Tiger's game was all over the place his behaviour was pretty much exemplary, the 34-year-old refraining from the anguished bellows of self-reproach that accompanied his return to the Masters a few weeks ago. While such self control may please the old guard, we're guessing that Tiger's legion of fans won't mind hearing their guy let slip a few f-bombs if that's what it takes to restore his A-game.
Rory McIlroy had a shaky round, although compared to recent performances the Ulsterman was actually playing a little better, hitting four birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on the 16th to finish on even par. Padraig Harrington endured a similar story, five birdies snuffed out by an equal dose of bogeys to see the Dubliner end the day on par.
Ross Fisher was on the same score after three birdies and bogeys, though that was enough to make him the lowest scoring Englishman in the field. And Anthony Kim, third at Augusta a few weeks ago was another player who could only come home on even-par, despite a powerhouse beginning where the 24-year-old hit five birdies on the first eight holes. Three bogeys and a double on the 16th brought the Korean-American abruptly back down to earth during the latter half of play, sadly.
And Lee Westwood fared disappointingly too, the world No. 4 finishing one-over-par after a real mixed bag that saw the 37-year-old hit three birdies and an eagle on the 7th - together with four bogeys and a double on the 13th. At least Westwood could take solace from finishing better than Woods. So much for the great Mickelson-Woods rivalry - it's been five years since the 14-time major winner last missed a cut on the PGA Tour, but another round like this and Tiger could find himself making an early exit here.
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