| by: Jason Ferguson - 7/1/2005 10:09:54 AM |
| The first round of the 2005 Cialis Western Open kicked off with an hour delay due to early morning thunderstorms. As I arrived, there was evidence on the course of the storms with standing water in several areas on the course. After some course maintenance by the ground crew the tournament was ready to start.
Starting my day with following John Daly I didn’t pay much attention to the others in the pairing until a first hole birdie by Ben Curtis, 2003 British Open champion. On the par 4 No. 1, he put a 9-iron within inches from 140 yards out. Curtis started his quest for a Western title with a bogey-free, 7 under 64 Thursday, giving him a share of the lead with Jim Furyk and Todd Fischer.
The rain wasn’t the only thing slowing down the first round of this tournament, the rough at times seemed to be a lot to handle for these skilled tour players. With shots deviating slightly off cue, players were paying dearly for shots landing in the damp, thick rough that seemed to make balls disappear. On several drives landing in the rough on hole 7, the gallery had to direct the marshals on finding some of the off target tee shots for several players on this hole.
Curtis really picked up some strokes with a nice six-hole run on the back nine picking up 5 strokes. He birdied the par-3 12th and par-4 14th, the followed with a nice eagle on No. 15. He used a 3-wood to get within 12 feet from 240 yards out, then made a confident stroke his putter which has been inconsistent in earlier tournaments this year. He followed with another strong putt on the 17th hole making a 20-footer to get him to 7-under par.
"I made it very simple on myself, didn't get in any trouble off the tee with the thick rough," Curtis said. "I just played very solid. …Everything clicked together today."
Curtis, Furyk, and Fischer may have avoided the rough, but many others seemed satisfied with merely locating their ball under these conditions.
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