Posted on 07/18/2002 6:42:54 AM PDT by dtel
GULLANE, Scotland - Tiger Woods, seeking a third successive major title, survived a poor day with the putter Thursday to post a one-under par 70 in his first round at the British Open.
That left him three adrift of the early leaders, no problem for the world's greatest player, but it remained a round of missed opportunity for the American, who could have been clear of the field if a few of his double-figure birdie putts had dropped.
He managed just three birdies, also chalking up two bogeys, as he struggled to get to grips with Muirfield's slow, heavily-sanded greens in an otherwise generally solid round.
"I'm very pleased with the way I played," said Woods. "I managed my way pretty well around the course and anything under par is good.
"I hit good putts, sometimes they just don't go in."
Woods, seeking to become the first man to win all four majors in the same year, was out at 9:01 a.m. local time.
He was accompanied by Englishman Justin Rose and Shigeki Maruyama of Japan and had the best of the weather with Muirfield enjoying a balmy morning.
But his bid for history got off to an inauspicious start when, after being disturbed by a clicking camera on the first tee, he sliced his long iron wide right into the rough.
More camera problems ahead of his second shot led Woods to snap a warning to the offender as once again the enormous crowds following his every move proved difficult to manage.
In true Woods style, however, he managed to shut the problems out of his mind and fashion a par four by chipping back onto the fairway, pitching to within eight feet and rolling in the putt.
PUTTING RADAR
Two more fours followed, both of which could have been threes after blips on the putting radar, and the first par-three was also negotiated in regulation.
The driver came out of the bag for the first time on the 560-yard par-five fifth and a two iron had him on the green in two. A perfect putt left him a tap-in for his first birdie of the day.
He immediately gave it away, however, lipping out a four-foot par putt on the sixth.
Two more birdie opportunities slipped past on the seventh and eighth with shortish putts going wide but the par-five ninth offered another chance that he did not waste as another two-iron off the tee and a monstrous four-iron gobbled up the 508 yards of turf.
A curving 30 footer stopped just short and he duly tapped-in for his second birdie of the day to reach the turn one-under.
His playing partners enjoyed an even better start with both Rose and Maruyama four-under after nine for a share of the early lead.
Another wayward tee shot cost Woods a shot at 10 but he moved back to one-under with a birdie at 11 after pitching to five feet.
Another birdie putt lipped out at 12 and a 20 footer was just short on the next.
It was the same story on 14, 15 and 16 while another pushed 2-iron off the 17th tee blew his chance of a third birdie on the third par-five.
On the last, he overshot the green but recovered well for another par -- ending the day with a remarkable 34 putts.
The bad news for Tiger. If he gets the flat stick going, it's over. 34 putts yet only 3 back (as of now). If he's anywhere near the lead by the end of the day Saturday, the rest of the field will collapse.
Lefty at +1 thru 4.
Mrs. Parnevik already has four children herself. She was probably happy for the distraction...
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