Friday, March 11, 2011

TIDLAND TAKES PUERTO RICO OPEN LEAD AFTER A 63

CBSSports.com wire reports
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico -- Chris Tidland shot a 9-under 63 for a share of the second-round lead in the US PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open with James Driscoll and Troy Matteson.
Tidland had nine birdies in a bogey-free round at Trump International Golf Club-Puerto Rico to match the course record set by Derek Lamely in his victory last year and tied by Driscoll on Thursday.
"Everything, obviously, went pretty well," Tidland said. "I got off to a nice start. I hit a 6-iron on the second hole, No. 11. I hit it to a foot, and that kind of started me off. I made some nice putts for par and then I just kept hitting some fairways and some greens.
"And I had a lot of great looks, from 3 to 12 feet, and I made a lot of them today. These greens are in such good shape, and there's not a whole lot of break around the hole. There's a lot of putts that are right edge, left edge, and if you can get them started on line, you can make some putts, and I fortunately did." Matteson shot his second straight 67, and Driscoll had a 71 to join Tidland at 10 under.
Tidland, the former Oklahoma State University player who has two victories on the Nationwide Tour, is making his first appearance in the US Tour event.
"It's a fun place. It's fun," Tidland said. "All of us are staying at the resort. They take good care of us. It's great food, and yeah, it's been a great week.


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SCOTS TO FORE IN WEATHER-HIT HOOTERS TOUR EVENT

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
This time last year Banchory's Paul Cormack was winning the North-east Alliance championship by a big margin.
But instead of defending that title, Paul, pictured, has bigger fish to fry. He's been in America for some time now and this week he's in a huge field of 168 players at the NGA Hooters' Tour event, the Ocala Classic at Golden Hills Golf and Turf Club, Ocala in Florida.
Cormack's not doing too badly. He has had rounds of 72 and 69 for a tally of 141 which is three-under par and in joint 11th place among the qualifiers (145 or better made the cut).
The storms that delayed the WGC event, the Cadillac Championship elsewhere in Florida, have also put the Hooters Tour event way behind schedule.
Inverness exile Russell Knox, one of the satellite circuit's biggest money winners over the past few seasons, finished very late on Friday with a 69 to add to his opening 70 and he is in joint sixth position.
John Morgan from Bristol was one of those who did not complete his second round until Saturday. He had a first-round 69 followed by a 72 for 141 and joint 11th position.
Twice past Scottish youths champion from Elgin, Joel Hendry, now based in Bluffton, South Carolina, made the cut after rounds of 73 and 70 for 143.
Ruaidhri McGee from Londonderry, Northern Ireland failed with scores of 72 and 74 for 146.
David Skinns from Lincoln has had a pair of 70s for 140 and he is five shots away from the  clubhouse leader, American Jesse Hutchins who has had scores of 68 and 67 for nine-under-par 135 over a course measuring just over 7,300yd

CLUBHOUSE SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72) Players from US unless stated
135 Jesse Hutchins 68 67.
137 Yohann Benson (Canada) 67 70, Will Claxton 71 66.
138 Andrew Landry 68 70, Brandon Brown 68 70.
139 Ted Potter 72 67, Russell Knox (Scotland) 70 69.
Selected scores:
140 David Skinns (England) 70 70 (T8).
141 Paul Cormack (Scotland) 72 69 (T11).
143 Joel Hendry (Scotland) 73 70 (T33).
MISSED THE CUT (145 or better)
146 Ruardhri McGee (N Ireland) 72 74 (T82).



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MARTIN LAIRD STAYS IN THE BLUE MONSTER PICTURE

Martin Laird showed he's made of the right stuff by bouncing back from a double bogey 5 at the short 13th in his second round to birdie the 16th and 17th for a second-round two-under-par 70 in the Cadillac Championship over the TPC Blue Monster at Doral, Florida.
Coupled with his opening 67, the Scot's 137 halfway tally had him lying joint second among the early finishers.
American Hunter Mahan maintained the pole position although he took a 71 - seven shots more than his first-round effort - for 135.
Matt Kuchar was up alongside Laird with a 69 for 137.
Laird birdied the long first, the long eighth, the short ninth, the 16th and 17th in halves of 34 and 36. He had a bogey at the second and a double bogey at the short 13th.
Later World No 1 Martin Kaymer and fellow European Francesco Molinari moved into joint second place, a shot behind pacemaker Mahan. Kaymer had a 70 for 136 and Molinari a pair of 68s.
Rory McIlroy has come back to form with 68 and 69 for 137, the same total as Martin Laird.
Luke Donald had a 72 for 139.
Paul Casey had a 71 for 141 while Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell are on 143. Poulter had a second-round 70, McDowell a 73.
Lee Westwood (74), Tiger Woods (74) and Phil Mickelson (71) are bracketed on level par 144.
Justin Rose had a 71 for 148 and Rhys Davies a 76 for 149. 
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
Players from US unless stated
135 Hunter Mahan 64 71.
136 Martin Kaymer (Germany) 66 70, Francesco Molinari (Italy) 68 68.
137 Martin Laird (Scotland) 67 70, Matt Kuchar 68 69,Nick Watney 67 70, Rory McIlroy (N Ireland) 68 69. 
138 Aaron Baddeley (Australia) 72 66, Adam Scott (Australia) 68 70, Dustin Johnson 69 69.
139 Ernie Els (S Africa) 69 70, Luke Donald (England) 67 72, Steve Stricker 68 71.
Selected scores:
140 Kevin Streelman 68 72.
141 Ryo Ishikawa (Japan) 65 76, Paul Casey (England) 70 71.
142 Bill Haas 74 68.
143 Ian Poulter 73 70, Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) 70 73.
144 Lee Westwood (England) 70 74, Tiger Woods 70 74, Phil Mickelson 73 71.
145 Ross Fisher (England) 69 76.
148 Justin Rose (England) 77 71.
149 Rhys Davies (Wales) 73 76.CHECK OUT THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE FOR THE LATEST
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GOLF CLUBS IN BRITISH ISLES AND EUROPE HIT BY SLUMP

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By Alistair Tait
Twitter@GolfweekTait
Golf in the British Isles and Europe is in trouble, according to a new report.
A new survey by KPMG makes bad reading for the game in Europe and confirms what most have suspected for some time – the game is not in a healthy state.
The KPMG Golf Benchmark Survey canvassed the views of 350 clubs across Europe and the Middle East and came to some stark conclusions. Rounds and revenues were down for the calendar year. Less than half of all golf facilities made a profit, and many were up for sale.
Among the notable findings are:
• Among the survey respondents, 43 percent reported a drop in the number of rounds played, and 44 percent said their revenues fell.
• Less than half (49 percent) were profitable, and a quarter posted an operating loss.
• Courses in Eastern Europe performed poorly (33 percent suffered a loss) while those in Middle East & North Africa fared well (73 percent reported ‘good’ results).
• Some 65 percent of golf facilities have cut costs – with 45 percent reducing staff.
• Nearly a fifth (18 percent) have reduced or withdrawn joining fees.
• Golf course owners in the region’s largest market, Great Britain and Ireland, are the most pessimistic about future prospects with only 44 percent predicting better business performance in 2011 and 15 percent predicting a downturn in performance.
• One in 12 owners is considering selling his facility.
More than half of those surveyed do not expect to reach the same performance level as before the economic crisis until 2013. Andrea Sartori, head of KPMG’s Golf Advisory Practice, acknowledged that golf courses have been “active” in their efforts to boost profits.
“For some this will have improved their performance or mitigated the ongoing effects of the economic downturn,” he said, but added: “However, it is clear from the number of loss-making golf facilities that market forces continue to impact on the performance of courses.
KPMG plans to address how course golf course operators can better address these economic challenges at its upcoming Golf Business Forum in Dubai in April.
If anyone still doubted the ill health of British golf, in particular, and European golf, in general, then this report should serve as a wake-up call.
It’s time for drastic action to resuscitate golf

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PAISLEY, BARNES TO FORE IN PEUGEOT TOUR EVENT

Former Walker Cup player Chris Paisley shot a 66 in the second round of the Peugeot Tour de Valencia at El Escorpion Golf Club in Spain today but the Englishman who made the headlines was Jason Barnes. He had the low score of the tournament so far - a seven-under-par 64 to be joint fourth on the 136 mark, one behind Paisley whose first round was a 69.
The lead is held by Spaniard Alfred Garcia-Heredia at nine-under-par 133, made up of a 66 and a 67.
Second at the moment is former British boys champion Francis Valera, also from Spain, with scores of 66 and 68. Valera won the British under-18s' open title at Montrose Links in 1991. Not many people remember that - except those that were there (writes Colin Farquharson, who was there!)

SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 142 (2x71)
133 Alfred Garcia-Heredia (Spain) 66 67.
134 Francis Valera (Spain) 66 68.
135 Chris Paisley (England) 69 66.
136 Jason Barnes (England) 72 64, Marco Crespi (Italy) 67 69.

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DAVID JAMES JOINT RUNNER-UP IN ALTORREAL OPEN

Scotland's David James had six birdies in an nine-hole span in his final round of the Altorreal Open but the pro from down Dumfries way could not improve on his overnight position and finished joint second in this the final event of the Spanish Hi5 Pro Tour's winter schedule in the Murcia region of south-east Spain.
Each of the three leaders after two rounds scored three-under-par 69s in the final round.
England's James Busby won with a five-under-total of 211, made up of rounds of 71, 71 and 69.
James totalled 214 with scores of 74, 71 and 69, sharing second place with Sweden's Robert Svensson (74-71-69).
James, capped for Scotland as an amateur member of Dumfries and County Golf Club in 1985, birdied the ninth, 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 17th but bogeyed the 16th in the final round.
Earlier in the day, James had a double bogey 5 at the short fifth. In his first round the Scot had a triple bogey 8 at the par-5 11th. Cut out these major clangers and James has won the tournament - but that is the way of things.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
211 James Busby (England) 71 71 69.
214 David James (Scotland) 74 71 69, Robert Svensson (Sweden) 74 71 69.
219 Thordur Gissurarson (Iceland) 73 73 73.
223 Lee Wanklyn (England) 74 79 70.
228 Mus Deboub (Netherlands) 74 75 79, John Green (England) 81 74 73.
231 Stuart McCance (England) 78 79 74.
232 Liam Connolly (England) 78 79 75.

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LEE TREVINO SAYS TIGER NEEDS TO 'GET RID OF ALL THE GURUS'

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By KEVIN GARSIDE
Those of you wondering why Tiger Woods, a man with 14 majors to his credit, should need instruction on how to hit a golf ball have a sympathiser in Lee Trevino.

Woods’ relationship with his new coach, Sean Foley, is the talk of the golfing salon. Foley’s defenders speak of a genuine, committed chap who thinks deeply about the game. His detractors, including Foley’s predecessor, Hank Haney, take one look at Woods on the tee and scream. Supermex is one of the screamers.

From his humble, self-taught roots in Texas, Trevino, pictured, honed a swing that was far from textbook but good enough to yield six majors. The idea that a golfer must reconstruct the fundamentals of the swing is anathema to him.

The idea that a player as good as Woods might need to tinker brings Lee out in hives.
“You are winning six tournaments in a row, and then you are holding all four (major) trophies at one time, and then you change your swing.
"What the hell for? Who are you trying to beat, yourself? He succeeded. He beat himself. Tiger is very dedicated to the game. He has a passion for it. I had the same thing, but I never changed my swing.”
Trevino still plays every day at the age of 71, and claims to hit the ball further than he did at 30. Technological doping you might say. Like the rest of us he is engaged by Woods.
Trevino’s approach to criticism reflects the way he played the game, curiously effective. He throws in the term ‘guru’ which invites us to consider the role of the coach as something other than a technical adviser.
Could Trevino be the first to flag up a weakness in a psyche previously thought to be bomb-proof? Tiger’s greatest strength turns out to be his weak point. Genius. Given what we have discovered about Woods’ private life, Trevino might just be on to something. All is not as it seems.
“I would love to see him go back to the original and just pound balls. Do you remember how he played? He won 6 in a row. How the hell do you win six in a row of anything? Once he gets his head screwed on straight and he gets rid of all of these gurus, he will be fine.”
There’s the answer, Tiger. Just give Supermex a ring.

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SCOTTISH GOLF AWARENESS WEEK - April 10 to 17

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
Golf clubs across the country are being encouraged to take part in this year’s Scottish Golf Awareness Week which tees off in a month’s time, taking place from April 10 to 17.
The Scottish Golf Union and Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association first launched Golf Awareness Week back in 2009 to support clubs in their efforts to attract new golfers to the game and retain existing members. While national membership numbers fell by 1.9% among adult male golfers during 2010, some positive signs emerged with 37 percent of clubs recorded an increase in their numbers and 10 percent of clubs reporting double digit percentage growth.
This year’s national campaign coincides with the weekend of the US Masters in Augusta, the first Major event of the season broadcast on terrestrial television and regarded as the traditional kick start to the golfing year for many. With the clocks changing and the lighter nights, coupled with an expected improvement in the weather, the governing bodies hope their activity will encourage nomadic golfers to consider joining their local golf club.
“By marketing the benefits of joining a golf club through a national media campaign, our aim is to provide clubs with the platform to deliver their own marketing activity on a local basis and attract nomadic golfers or lapsed members back into club membership,” explains Andy Salmon, Scottish Golf Development Manager.
“We have been hugely encouraged by the response from clubs over the past two years who have adapted well to the changing nature of membership. We’ve seen a much more proactive approach, with an increased number of age and price categories on offer, flexible payment options and a customer-focused approach,” he added.
“While we are under no illusions as to the continued challenges clubs are facing, including poor weather and a difficult economic climate, however our membership figures from last year highlight what can be achieved with the correct approach.”
More than 220 clubs attended the recent SGU and SLGA seminars with membership high on the agenda and the governing bodies have reacted to the demand from clubs for increased support and more resource in this area. Investment in this year’s campaign has risen, while a wide range of membership marketing services have been provided on the SGU website, from advice on running Open Days to case studies on clubs who have been successful in recruiting new members.
This year’s national campaign will focus be themed “Golf Club Membership – Time Well Spent” promoting the wide range of benefits and the flexibility membership can offer to golfers. The governing bodies are working with leading marketing agency Merchant Soul to develop the campaign, with activity taking place across national and regional media.
Club managers and committee members can download membership marketing tools by visiting http://www.scottishgolf.org/go/club-services/membership-marketing.

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MARTIN LAIRD'S 67 PUTS HIM IN JOINT FOURTH PLACE

The weather-delayed completion of the first round of the Cadillac Championship at Doral, Florida is almost over and Glasgow's Martin Laird finished his round this morning with a five-under-par 67, which put him in joint fourth place between American Hunter Mahan who shot an eight-under 64.
Tiger Woods had a 70, the same score as Graeme McDowell, Paul Casey and Lee Westwood but Phil Mickelson lost some ground with an uninspired 73.
Justin Rose had a disastrous 77.
Americans Bubba Watson and Ben Crane and South African Tim Clark pulled out of the tournament without hitting a ball.
Watson, ranked 15th in the world, said he had been feeling ill and short of energy and after trying out on the practice range he withdrew shortly before the tournament was due to begin.
Clark has been battling against tendinitis in his right elbow and has not played since tying for second place at the Sony Open in Hawaii seven weeks ago.
Crane pulled a rib muscle during his third-round defeat at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship two weeks ago
FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72.
Players from US unless stated
64 Hunter Mahan.
65 Ryo Ishikawa (Japan).
66 Martin Kaymer (Germany).
67 Charley Hoffman, Nick Watney, Martin Laird (Scotland), Luke Donald (England).
68 D A Points, Vijay Singh (Fiji), Adam Scott (Australia), Francesco Molinari (Italy), Rory McIlroy (N Ireland), Steve Stricker, Thomas Aiken (S Africa), Kevin Streelman, Padraig Harrington (Ireland), Matt Kuchar.
Selected scores:
69 Ross Fisher (England), Ernie Els (S Africa).
70 Grame McDowell (N Ireland), Tiger Woods, Paul Casey (England), Lee Westwood (England).
73 Rhys Davies (Wales), Ian Poulter (England), Phil Mickelson (T48).
74 Jim Furyk (T55).
77 Justin Rose (England) (T65).

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LIVE SCORING FROM US TOUR'S PUERTO RICO OPEN

LIVE SCORING FROM THIS WEEKEND'S US PGA TOUR EVENT, THE PUERTO

RICO OPEN AT TRUMP INTERNATIONAL GOLF CLUB, RIO GRAND IS

AVAILBLE ON ITS WEBSITE

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FOWLER LEADS HANDA SENIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

By STEVE TODD
European Senior Tour Press Officer
Australian Peter Fowler continued his recent resurgence on the European Senior Tour with a five-under-par 67 to lead after the opening round of the ISPS Handa Senior World Championship presented by Mission Hills China.
Fowler, pictured by courtesy of Getty Images (c), who has recorded two top ten finishes from three appearances already this season, fired six birdies to finish one stroke clear of current Order of Merit leader Sandy Lyle, Englishman D J Russell and fellow Australian Noel Ratcliffe.
It is the second consecutive week that Fowler has topped the leaderboard after the first round, having been co-leader with Bill Longmuir seven days ago in the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters presented by The Stapleford Forum.
The 51 year old former European Tour winner birdied the second, fifth and sixth holes of the World Cup Course at Mission Hills to reach the turn in 33 strokes. He then had back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th holes before his only bogey of the day on the par three 13th hole.
However he reclaimed that shot with a birdie on the 14th before coming home with four straight pars.
“I was pretty consistent today and it really helps on this course if you can carry it far,” said Fowler. “It’s great to be at the top of the leaderboard but it is no surprise that the likes of Sandy Lyle are close. “He hits the ball so high and far which is a really big advantage on this course, but the scores are likely to be close. It’s great to be playing with these champions.”Fowler won the 1989 World Cup for Australia, partnering Wayne Grady, and he is hoping that the World Cup Course at Mission Hills- albeit a different venue to the La Brisas in Spain where he triumphed 22 years ago – will inspire his maiden Senior Tour victory after an injury ravaged past two seasons.
“I had one and a half years off golf recently with a couple of surgeries but with six months or so back playing I’m feeling more comfortable,” he said.
“I’ve been playing quite consistently over the last few months and my putting has steadily improved.”
Two-time Major Champion Lyle, who is an ambassador for title sponsor ISPS, carded four birdies in the opening 11 holes of his flawless opening round 68 as he also continues his search for a first Senior Tour title.
The Scot leads the Senior Tour Order of Merit by €14,903 and is looking to extend that advantage ahead of the Senior Tour reaching Europe for the first time in 2011 in June.
He said: “I had a good start today, gathering momentum on the second with an early birdie. The course is in fantastic condition and you need to shape your shots well and hopefully I will do the same for the rest of the week.”
Ratcliffe, the 2000 Senior Tour Order of Merit winner, would have had a share of the lead with his compatriot Fowler had it not been for a bogey on the 18th hole which saw him drop back to a share of second with Lyle on four under par.
They were joined by Russell, winner of the De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship last year, who carded a pair of birdies on the second and third hole and the 15th and 16th holes. Former Ryder Cup players Sam Torrance and Barry Lane are tied for 13th position after opening with rounds of 70, while 1991 Masters Champion Ian Woosnam is in a share of 25th place on one over par after a 73.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
67 P Fowler (Aus)
68 N Ratcliffe (Aus), D Russell (Eng), S Lyle (Sco) 
69 A Franco (Par), H Carbonetti (Arg), F Mann (Sco), G Ralph (Eng) 
70 T Price (Aus) , J Quiros (Esp) , W Smith (Aus) , G Wolstenholme (Eng) ,
71 B Longmuir (Sco), B Lane (Eng) , J Rivero (Esp) , S Torrance (Sco) , M Belsham (Eng), M Cunning (USA) , M Farry (Fra)
72 G Brand (Eng) , B Cameron (Eng) , L Carbonetti (Arg) , G Manson (Aut) , B Ruangkit (Tha)
73 S Van Vuuren (RSA) , K Spurgeon (Eng) , M Moreno (Esp) , F Illouz (Fra) , G Banister (Aus) , I Woosnam (Wal) , R Davis (Aus) , N Job (Eng) , J Gould (Eng) , C Mason (Eng) , M Briggs (Eng) , A Sherborne (Eng)
74 W Grady (Aus) , J Chillas (Sco) , B Lincoln (RSA) , J Stuart (USA) , L Stephen (Aus) , D Hospital (Esp) , D Cambridge (Jam) , K Tomori (Jpn) , J Bruner (USA) , D O'Sullivan (Irl) , B Smit (RSA)
75 M Miller (Sco) , M Harwood (Aus) , A Sowa (Arg) , P Dahlberg (Swe) , S Owen (Nzl) , D Merriman (Aus) , J Heggarty (Nir) , T Johnstone (Zim)
76 M Kierstenson (Eng) , T Burgoyne (Sco)
77 T Charnley (Eng) , M Piñero (Esp) , R Metherell (Aus) , D Durnian (Eng) , T Gale (Aus) , J Sallat (Fra) , B Hardwick (Can)
78 G Cali (Ita) , T Hassan (am) (Pak), H Lian-Sheng (Chn) 
79 S Cipa (Eng) , C Williams (RSA)
80 G Davies (Wal) 
81 W Yuxiang (Chn), S Bennett (Eng) 
82 S Lei (Chn)
83 Y Yunchang (Chn) 
84 L Yajiang (Chn) 

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STARS FAIL TO SHINE AFTER STORM HALTS DORAL FIRST ROUND

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
By Damon Hack, Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated
DORAL, Florida — It was Thursday morning at the Blue Monster and Jim Mackay was punching in for work. On his shoulder was a red and black golf bag. On the menu, a tee time with Tiger Woods.
Mackay lumbered toward Doral's nearly empty practice green, dropped the bag and began his workday. He grabbed a few irons from the bag. He buffed them with a towel, wiping down the grips and clubheads. He leaned hard against the bag.
At 8:48 a.m., more than three hours before his scheduled tee time with Woods and Graeme McDowell, Mickelson emerged from the Doral clubhouse, and the energy on the property began to change. In the old days, Doral was always the unofficial start of the golf season, and on Thursday it was happening again.
Mickelson and Mackay didn't fist bump or high five, but greeted each other with the solemn nod of business partners entering an important negotiation. Mickelson grabbed his putter and a fistful of balls.
"I'll take Phil for $100," someone in the crowd shouted. The folks were in a betting mood.
If the US PGA Tour was waiting for the early signature event of the 2011 season, it could be at Doral, where 63 players kicked off the annual march toward the Masters in front of a large, energetic gallery. If the West Coast swing was highlighted by the star turns of Bubba Watson and Jhonattan Vegas and the hilarity of Bill Murray at Pebble Beach, Doral is where the golf gets serious.
Mickelson spent Tuesday at Augusta National Golf Club, where he played a practice round before arriving at Doral for his much-anticipated pairing with Woods and McDowell, the 2010 United States Open Champion.
After a morning storm delayed play for nearly three hours and brought down 17 palm trees and two television towers—one of the tower cameras ended up in a lake—most of the players failed to finish their opening rounds.
Charley Hoffman holds the clubhouse lead after a five-under-par 67 while Hunter Mahan is seven under through 11 holes. But even the microburst that brought 55 mph winds and downed a scoreboard couldn't dampen the excitement of seeing Woods and Mickelson share a tee box, especially here.
Six years ago, the duo engaged in the most famous duel in Doral history, matching swings in a final-round tussle that felt more like a boxing match. Woods edged Mickelson by a shot, the catalyst for a huge year that included major wins at the Masters and the Open at St. Andrews. Woods and Mickelson ruled the golf world then.
On Thursday at Doral, the crowd pressed against the gallery ropes for a better look at the game's biggest rivalry, but the golf was mostly wanting. Woods, in what has become a familiar pattern, couldn't get the putts to drop and was one under par with three holes to play. Mickelson was marginally better, standing at two under par with three left. McDowell, the highest ranked player in the group, at No. 4 in the world, was one under par with three holes left.
With the fairways and greens softened by rain, the scoring opportunities were ample, even if the signature group failed to capitalise.
"We had a beautiful day to play golf," Mickelson said. "When the storm went away, the weather cleared up and we just had beautiful weather. We didn't play our best, but we didn't play terrible to where we shot ourselves in the foot. We are in a good position to come back out, finish the round strong and play our second round."
For years, Woods and Mickelson have given Doral galleries nothing less than superior play. Woods has won six times here. Mickelson, in addition to his runner-up finish in 2005, won here in 2009.
That is why the galleries ran to the 10th tee to greet them, and why Mickelson and Mackay were up early preparing for the task.
On Friday, they will all be back at the Blue Monster, Woods and Mickelson and thousands more. Doral is here. The Masters is around the corner. The season has begun.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD

Par 72
-7 after 11 holes Hunter Mahan
-5 after 18 Charley Hoffman.
-5 after 16 Vijay Singh.
-5 after 16 Nick Watney.
-5 after 12 Ryo Ishikawa.
-5 after 11 Matt Kuchar.
-5 after 10 Martin Kaymer.
-5 after 10 Luke Donald.
Selected scores:
-4 after 15 Rory McIlroy.
-4 after 11 Martin Laird.
-4 after 10 Lee Westwood.
-3 after 13 Ross Fisher.
-3 after 11 Ernie Els.
-2 after 15 Phil Mickelson.
-1 after 15 Graeme McDowell.
-1 after 15 Tiger Woods.
-1 after 15 Paul Casey.
+1 after 16 Ian Poulter.
+1 after 9 Justin Rose.

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