Friday, March 23, 2012

WOODS AND WI SHARE LEAD AT ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
By Staff and wire reports

ORLANDO, Florida -- Even when he was winning with regularity, Tiger Woods rarely made it look this easy at Bay Hill.
He putted for birdie on every hole.
His longest putt for par was on the 18th, when his birdie try caught the right edge of the cup and left him about 3 feet coming back.
If the game looked familiar, so did his position Friday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.
Woods ran off four straight birdies early in his round, then made back-to-back birdies late in the afternoon for a 7-under 65, giving him a share of the lead with Charlie Wi. It was the first time in 30 months on the US PGA Tour that Woods has been atop the leaderboard going into the weekend.
"It was a solid round of golf," Woods said. "I felt like I actually hit it better yesterday than I did today. I've made more putts today, for sure. I felt great over the putter. My speed was good. I left a couple putts dead short, right in the center of the hole. Actually, it really could have been a really low round. A lot of positives today."
Wi, the 54-hole leader at Pebble Beach this year, rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on his last hole for a 68 to join Woods at 10-under 134.
Former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell had an eagle-par-birdie finish for a 63, while Jason Dufner continued his solid play on the Florida swing with a 69. They were one shot behind at 135.
Woods last had the 36-hole lead in any tour event at the Australian Open in November, and he tied for third. On the US PGA Tour, go all the way back to the Tour Championship in September 2009 to find the last time he was atop the leaderboard going into the weekend.
It looks even more ominous at Bay Hill, where Woods is a six-time winner.
"I want to win. Yes, absolutely," he said. "We've got a long way to go. It's not like it's over right now. We've got 36 holes to go."
Woods at least is in better shape than he was two weeks ago. His future looked as muddled as ever when Woods was taken off the golf course in a cart at TPC Blue Monster because of soreness and swelling in his left Achilles tendon, the same injury that forced him to miss three months and two majors a year ago.
One week later, he was practising at Augusta National. Now, he's the player everyone is chasing on the weekend.
"I saw him on television at Doral and it didn't look good there," said Ernie Els, who played with Woods at Bay Hill, and played with him when Woods shot 62 on the last day of the Honda Classic. "Today he was on, and today was the same as I saw at the Honda -- very on."
Woods only had a couple of nervous moments.
He ran off four straight birdies on the front nine to quickly get into the mix, and then couldn't decide how to play his tee shot on the 10th. It didn't help that earlier in the round, he looked over at adjacent first tee and saw Nick Watney -- affectionately known as "Rube" -- pipe his tee shot out-of-bounds to the right.
"I got over there and for some reason I'm thinking, `You know, I probably really shouldn't hit this driver; I'll take something off of it, and just hit a little softy out there.' And bailed on it, because I didn't want to hit it right out-of-bounds," Woods said.
"And I chalked that up to just not listening to my instincts of hitting a 3-iron down there or just chipping a 5-wood -- or not watching Ruby hit that shot."
Woods was lucky. The snap hook bounced off a net fence protecting the houses, and he had just enough room to play to the middle of the 10th green and walk away with par.
He also was disgusted with his approach to the par-5 16th, turning in anger and swiping at the ground. It wasn't a great shot, but it was dry, catching the left side of the green 50 feet away and setting up a two-putt birdie.
Woods also had a two-putt birdie at the par-5 sixth. He made birdies on the other par 5s with his wedge game. Over two rounds, he has had such improved control of his play that he hit 19 consecutive greens in regulation at one point. That streak ended on the 13th hole Friday, when he two-putted for par from on the fringe.
Some of that is familiarity.
"I've had a few places where I've felt comfortable and I've played well, and this is one of them," Woods said. "For some reason, I just understand how to play it."
And some of that is becoming more confident with his swing, especially how far he is hitting the ball. Woods said he was not hitting his irons as well before going to work with Sean Foley, and a straighter, tighter ball flight has led to more distance -- and more adjustments.
He felt as though he hit the ball better on Thursday in a round of 69, although he didn't have nearly as many birdie chances.
"My bad days are not as bad as they used to be," Woods said.
It was the fifth time Woods had had at least a share of the 36-hole lead at Bay Hill, and he has failed to win only once from that position. Woods served up several reminders that the tournament is only halfway over, along with gentle rebukes that it hasn't been that long that he's been in the hunt.
He was tied for the 54-hole lead at Abu Dhabi, finishing third behind Robert Rock. Woods played well at the Australian Open until a poor third round. As for winning, he counts that birdie-birdie finish to win the Chevron World Challenge, which counted toward the world ranking even though it featured an 18-man field from the top 50 in the world.
"So it really has not been as long as people might think it has been," Woods said. "I'm comfortable up there, and I feel like I'm playing well. We've still got a long way to go. We still have 36 holes to go. Still need to continue doing what I'm doing out there, just kind of plodding my way along."
Wi, who shared the 18-hole lead with Dufner, birdied four of his last six holes to catch up to Woods. From the right rough on the ninth hole, he hammered out a shot to 25 feet below the cup for one last birdie.
Wi and Woods grew up in southern California and have known each other since their junior days, though Wi is four years older.
"Tiger is the man, and it's going to be fun tomorrow," Wi said.
The best round came from McDowell, and it was a reminder of how far he has come in one year. McDowell had a dream season in 2010 by winning the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, winning the decisive point for Europe in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, then ending the year with a record comeback against Woods in the Chevron World Challenge.
McDowell had a hard time managing his time, much less his expectations, and the eye-opener was at Bay Hill last year when he shot 80.
This time, McDowell was 17 shots better.
"That 80 was a wake-up call, but I didn't wake up for another four months or so," McDowell said. "It was more of the panic button. It was a pretty awful four or five months for me.
"But like I say, I feel like you learn more from those types of experiences than you do from shooting 63 at Bay Hill. There's not much to learn out there except that if you play great and hole some putts, you can go low."
That's just what he did.
Dufner set the early pace and was the first to reach 10 under until going for the green on the par-5 sixth, misjudging the wind and going into the water to make bogey. Even so, it was another solid round in Florida. Dufner had the lead going into the weekend at Innisbrook, and now he is one shot behind at Bay Hill.
"I think any given day, I can go out and shoot 5 or 6 under, do it pretty comfortably," Dufner said. "If the putter were to get hot, I feel like I could shoot some lower scores. There has not been a lot of stressful situations that last two or three weeks."
The stress might pick up Saturday. Woods brings energy to the course when he's around the lead, especially at Bay Hill, and especially when it's been so long since he has won on the US PGA Tour. He has gone 27 US Tour events without a trophy.

LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 Players from US unless stated
134 Tiger Woods 69 65, Charlie Wi 66 68.
135 Jason Dufner 66 69, Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) 72 63.
138 Justin Rose (England) 69 69.
139 Bubba Watson 69 70, Sergio Garcia (Spain) 72 67, Chris Stroud 70 69, Webb Simpson 73 66, Zach Johnson 71 68.
SELECTED SCORES
140 Ian Poulter (England) 71 69, Martin Laird (Scotland) 72 68 (T12)
141 Ernie Els (S Africa) 71 70 (T15)
143 Brian Davis (England) 70 73 (T29).
144 Jim Furyk 72 72, Phil Mickelson 73 71 (T35)
147 Greg Owen (England) 73 74 (T61)
MISSED THE CUT (147 or better qualified).
149 Gary Christian (England) 74 75.

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PHILIP PRICE LEADS AFTER WIND DELAY IN MOROCCO

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Round 2 of this week's European Tour event in Morocco, the Trophée Hassan II, at Agadir, did not start until 1pm local time today, having been delayed 5 1/2 hours by high winds.
When play did start, former Ryder Cup hero Phillip Price had five birdies in eight holes to take over at the top of the leaderboard.
The Welshman, who beat Phil Mickelson as Europe won the Ryder Cup in 2002, moved to nine under par.
Starting on the back nine at Golf du Palais Royal, Price parred his first five holes before a hattrick of gains from the 15th.
Further birdies followed at the second and fourth as the 45 year old, who kept his European Tour card by the skin of his teeth last season, moved two shots ahead of overnight leader Damien McGrane.
McGrane was amongst the later starters and the Irishman had no prospect of finishing his second round on Friday.
He had been joined in second place by Swede Joel Sjöholm, who was five under through eight holes.
Price has not finished among The European Tour's top 100 money-winners since 2004, and is chasing his first victory for nine years.
Helped by holing a bunker shot on the short 16th, his seventh, Price took over at the top from McGrane, although it was 5.30pm before the Irishman teed off again on seven under.
More than half the field will have to complete their rounds tomorrow morning, but unlike last month's Qatar Masters, which also had to be halted because of wind, it is still hoped to keep the event at 72 holes.
Sjöholm birdied the fourth to take solo second on eight under, with McGrane joined by José Manuel Lara, the Spaniard five under for the day with five to play.
South African Garth Mulroy matched McGrane’s opening 65, but coming after an opening 73 it left him tied for fifth on six under.

COMPLETED SECOND ROUNDS
Par 144 (2x72)
134 Philip Price (Wales) 68 66
135 Jose Manuel Lara (Spain) 70 65.
136 Joel Sjholm (Sweden) 70 66.
137 Jorge Campillo (Spain) 68 69

SELECTED SCORES
139 Gary Orr (Scotland) 72 67.
141 Craig Lee (Scotland) 73 68.
142 David Drysdale (Scotland) 71 71, Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 72 70.
144 George Murray (Scotland) 72 72.

PROJECTED CUT - 145 or better to qualify
146 Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) 72 74.
154 Peter Whiteford (Scotland) 79 75.

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DAVID SMAIL HALFWAY LEADER IN JAKARTA INDONESIAN OPEN

JAKARTA– New Zealand’s David Smail produced another polished performance on Friday to take the halfway lead in the US$1 million Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open. Smail fired a three-under-par 69, but the bulk of the field struggled to get to grips with Emeralda Golf Club’s demanding course -- where fast greens, narrow fairways and thick rough combined to make the cut plus five.
Smail leads with a seven-under-par 137 by one stroke from Australian left-hander Nick Cullen, who carded a 66 and the lowest round of the week.
A stroke further behind is American David Oh (67), Australia’s Jamie Arnold (68), and Yoshikazu Hazu from Japan (69).
The tournament is jointly sanctioned by OneAsia and the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO), and is the opening event of the season for both circuits.
Smail, a five-time winner on the JGTO, held the first round lead with 68 and again looked comfortable on the course on Friday.
“The score was good but I didn’t play as well as yesterday," said the 41 year old.
"I did not strike it as good although I hit a lot of good shots and had a few bad ones as well," he added. "Maybe there was a lack of concentration at times. I wasn’t quite as focused as yesterday."
The lanky Kiwi’s last tournament was in December last year, but he made five birdies and two bogeys to put himself on the threshold of a first victory since winning two titles in Japan in 2005.
"It would be nice to win again as it has been a while," he said.
"I have been knocking on the door quite a bit with a few seconds and thirds a few years ago. It would be nice to get one that is for sure,” added the six-time World Cup player.
Unheralded Cullen recorded an unblemished bogey-free round with two birdies on the front side and four on the inward half.
“I struck it pretty well today. I hit 14 fairways and 15 greens and I just kept it in play,” said the 27-year-old.
The Australian had three months out of the game last year with a back injury but says he has worked hard to get his game back into shape.
“I am normally a very straight hitter and that is very important around here," said Cullen.
"I was in the rough three or four times yesterday and you just can’t hit it when you get in there, but I kept it in play today."
That said, Cullen felt he left a few putts on the tricky greens.
"The longest putt I holed was a 10 footer,” he said.
Earlier this year Cullen quailed for the Open Championship after making it through international qualifying on home soil.
“I can’t wait. I am trying not to think about it too much," he said.
"I have 10 events before that so I don’t want to base everything around that. It is going to be an amazing experience and I am really looking forward to it.”
Japanese star Hiroyuki Fujita, an 11 time winner on the JGTO, came in with a 71 and is four off the lead.
China’s Liang Wenchong, the 2010 OneAsia Order of Merit winner and three-time winner on the circuit, shot a 73 and is five back.
Indonesia’s top golfer Rory Hie, who finished second in this event last year, carded a 70 and is one under for the tournament.
“I got lucky," said the home town favourite. "I had a problem with my left foot yesterday and I was afraid I would not be able to continue to play as it felt kind of strained.”
Defending champion Thaworn Wiratchant from Thailand returned a 71 and is two over.Japan’s Shingo Katayama, the five-time winner of the JGTO Money List title, retired at the start of the day with a back injury.
LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
137 David Smail (NZL) 68 69
138 Nick Cullen (AUS) 72 66
139 David Oh (USA) 72 67, Jamie Arnold (AUS) 71 68, Yoshikazu Haku (JPN) 70 69
140 Kim Meen-whee (KOR) 70 70
141 Hu Mu (CHN) 73 68, Hiroyuki Fujita (JPN) 70 71, Satoshi Tomiyama (JPN) 71 70, Scott Arnold (AUS) 72 69
142 Prayad Marksaeng (THA) 74 68, Stephen Leaney (AUS) 72 70, Liang Wenchong (CHN) 69 73, Masaya Tomida (JPN) 72 70
143 Daniel Fox (AUS) 73 70, Rory Hie (INA) 73 70, Mamo Osanai (JPN) 71 72, Park Eun-shin (KOR) 74 69, Ryan Haller (AUS) 73 70, Kazuhiro Yamashita (JPN) 70 73, Jay Choi (US) 71 72, Naoto Nakanishi (JPN) 72 71

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JANE TURNER LEADS THE SCOTS IN SOUTH AMERICAN CH/SHIP

Jane Turner was the best placed of the three Scots at the halfway stage of the South American amateur championships, supported by the R and A, at Club Campestre, Farrallones in Cali, Colombia.
The Robert Gordon University student from Penicuik, a Craigielaw GC member, has had rounds of 76 and 71 for a 36-hole tally of three-over-par 147 to be lying joint eighth.
Jane is the only European in the women's field of 38 players.
Her 71 was one of the best second-round scores. Her three birdies came at par-5 holes - the second, 11th and 18th. She dropped shots at the third and short 17th in halves of 36 (level par) and 35 (one under)
Scotland international Graeme Robertson (Stirling University and Glenbervie) is in joint 13th position in the men's championship with rounds of 70 and 75 for one-over-par 145.
Also in the field is former Scottish boys stroke play champion in the 1990s, James Bunch. He is in T47 position in a men's field of 65 with scores of 77 and 78.

MEN'S LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
136 Jorge Fernandez (Argentina) 71 65.
139 Gustavo Leon (Venezuela) 68 71, Franco Romero (Argentina) 73 66.
SCOTS' SCORES
145 Graeme Robertson 70 75 (T13).
155 James Bunch 77 78 (T47).

WOMEN'S LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
138 Delfina Acosta (Argentina) 70 68.
140 Paloma Vaccaro (Paraguay) 67 73.
142 Natalia Ferero (Colombia) 72 70
SCOT'S SCORE
147 Jane Turner 76 71 (T8).

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TIGER WEARS INJURIES LIKE 'ATHLETIC BADGE OF HONOUR'

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By OLIVER BROWN
With caustic observations that shed fresh light upon Tiger Woods’s battle with Achilles problems, Hank Haney has accused his former pupil of wearing injuries like an “athletic badge of honour”.
So obsessed was Woods with being regarded as an athlete, his former coach argues, that he used injuries as a means of being accepted by stars who played more physically demanding sports than golf.
Haney recalls: “It got to the point where Steve Williams [Woods’s former caddie] and Mark Steinberg [the golfer’s agent] would just roll their eyes when Tiger had another injury complaint.”
The extraordinary disclosure from Haney comes ahead of next Tuesday’s publication of The Big Miss, an advance copy of which has been seen by Telegraph Sport.
Haney, who chronicles his six years working alongside golf star Woods with merciless candour, depicts Woods as a gym rat trying to shatter the perception of golf as a sport for “out-of-shape white guys”.
Less than a fortnight ago, Woods withdrew midway through the final round of the Cadillac Championship at Doral, citing a problem with his left Achilles.
Haney admits that he had grown concerned about his student’s frequent injury dramas but that Williams had told him: “Don’t worry, it’s always something.”
In Haney’s account, Woods “liked being one of Nike’s so-called golf athletes. He liked being considered buff. He liked using terms from other sports, like ‘reps’, ‘game speed’, ‘taking it deep’, or ‘getting good looks’, and applying them to golf. And he liked the impression that his swing was so violently athletic that it put him on constant guard against injury.”
The accusation that Woods took pride in his injuries is guaranteed to antagonise the 14-time major champion, who opened his quest for a seventh title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a first-round 69 on Thursday.
Haney’s book has been represented as a superficial, self-indulgent work by some critics, but it is littered with fascinating aperçus about Woods’s life and character.
For example, Haney explains that although Woods counted Roger Federer and Lance Armstrong among the personalities he most admired in sport, he “didn’t let any of these figures close to him, even when they reached out”.
Haney found out on a plane back from the 2006 Open at Hoylake just how impersonal Woods could be. Seeing Woods was in exuberant mood, having just lifted a third Claret Jug, he gave him a yardage book and championship programme to sign. They were handed back, inscribed simply, ‘Tiger Woods’.
“I thanked him, but I had been hoping he would write something personal and include my name,” Haney says.
The rumour of Woods being a miserly tipper is also analysed in detail. Haney remembers one incident in Las Vegas, where Woods had been playing blackjack with the high-rollers and gave the waitress “only a couple of hundred dollars, when a couple of thousand would have been more appropriate”.
Haney, ominously for one who coached Woods to six major triumphs, expresses scepticism that the 36 year-old can reach or surpass Jack Nicklaus’s mark of 18 titles. “Nicklaus was able to win four majors after turning 36, but three of them came by age 40, with the last one — at age 46 — a miracle, even to Jack.”
Describing Woods, controversially, as old for his age and more mentally fragile than in his pomp, Haney asserts: “Unlike the Tiger who in his 20s and early 30s was virtually indomitable, today’s Tiger has discovered that in life real disaster lurks.
"Plans don’t come true. Things can go wrong. That realisation creates doubt, and in competitive golf doubt is a killer. The big miss found its way into his life.”
Woods did not resemble a man in psychological torment yesterday. Buoyed by a three-under-par round at Bay Hill, which lifted him in to a share of third place with England’s Justin Rose, he claimed that his ball-striking felt as pure as it had all season.
And, as if on cue, there was a thinly veiled dig at Haney, as he lauded the swing adjustments he has made recently under Canadian coach Sean Foley.
“It’s all the work Sean and I have put together,” Woods said, when asked about his much-improved driving. “I’ve got the club in a position where I can do that. And I haven’t had that for a very long time."

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MACKENZIE, PAPPAS SHARE US NATIONWIDE TOUR LEAD

FROM THE US NATIONWIDE TOUR WEBSITE
By Joe Chemycz, Nationwide Tour staff
BROUSSARD, Louisiana -- The golf adage about drive for show and putt for dough was the order of the day at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open where Will MacKenzie and Brenden Pappas fired 8-under 63s to share the first-round lead.
MacKenzie had a pair of eagles at the Le Triomphe Country Club, including a hole out on his final shot of the afternoon for his round of 63. Pappas, who owns the course record with a 60 in 2007, rolled in putts from all corners and made nine birdies to tie for the lead.
Two-time and defending champion Brett Wetterich birdied three of his final four holes for a 7-under 64 and solo third.
Stephen Gangluff, Rob Oppenheim, Chris Riley, Brad Adamonis and Gene Sauers share fourth place at 6-under 65 while six others are jammed together with 66's.
Heavy rains on Wednesday dumped more than two inches of rain on an already-soaked golf course and forced officials to implement lift, clean and place conditions. As a result, 112 players in the field of 144 shot par-or-better scores.
There is money to be made on the greens where Pappas and Wetterich needed only 24 putts to complete their day while MacKenzie had just 25.
"I might have been lucky to make the turn at one-under actually," said MacKenzie. "I was not hitting it very well but putting really well. I had the speed of the greens down. That's been the missing link for me typically.."
MacKenzie turned the tables on his round when he turned the corner on the course. After starting on the back nine, birdies at Nos. 1 and 2 put him at 3-under but it was a 3-wood from 260 yards at the par-5, 5th hole that did the trick. His ball stopped less than 10 feet from the hole and canned the eagle putt to jump to the early lead at minus-5.
After another birdie at No. 6, MacKenzie kept his putter in the bag at the dogleg-left, 441-yard 9th hole.
"I never really play that hole well. I just don't know my line off the tee and I'm not a strong enough hitter to get over those bunkers on the left," he said. "I played it out to the fat part of the fairway and had 185 yards. My caddie said it was a perfect 7-iron, a little downwind. I hammered it right at it."
Two bounces and the ball found the cup for an eagle 2.
"There was one guy behind the green who gave me the high sign that it went it," said MacKenzie. "It was fun."
Regardless of how much fun MacKenzie had, Pappas had more.
The 41-year-old South African, normally a good putter, turned into a great putter, holing five putts in the 35-45 foot range and adding a pair from 18-20 feet.
"In my estimation I made about 270 feet worth of putts today," he said. "I hit the ball well enough to shoot one or two-under, maybe. I drove it good but my irons were terrible."
Pappas rolled in short birdies, long birdies and some sizeable pars to gain a share of the lead.
"The single-best putting day I've ever had," he said. "By far. Ever. Second is far distant compared to this. Even the putts I missed from 20 feet were good putts. You do things that are pretty amazing and everybody in the group is watching. It was fun to watch, even for me to watch them go in. I was just laughing after a while."
Pappas' only miss was a 20-footer for par at No. 8 -- otherwise he would have been perfect.
"Walking down 18 I was thinking about my ball-striking because I made all these putts and my ball-striking wasn't all that great," said Pappas, who missed four fairways and five greens on the day. "I'm thinking I need to go practice because you can't rely on putting like that all the time. It's just a fluke. Every putt I had over 30 was right in the jar."
First-Round Notes
• Thursday's weather: Partly cloudy. Winds S-SE 7-15 mph. High of 74.
• Lift, clean and place conditions were in effect for the first round and will be used for the second round as well.
• Brenden Pappas owns the course record -- an 11-under 60 in the opening round in 2007.
FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 71
Players from US unless stated
63 Will MacKenzie, Brenden Pappas (S Africa)
64 BrettWetterich.
65 Stephen Gangluff, Rob Oppenheim, Chis Riley, Brad Adamonis, Gene Sauers
Selected scores
68 Russell Knox (Scotland) (T25)
70 Ben Briscoe (Wales) (T63)

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WI, DUFFNER LEAD ON 66 IN ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
ORLANDO, Florida -- Charlie Wi felt a lot better walking off the golf course compared to his last round. So did Tiger Woods.
Coming off a final round at Innisbrook in which he made a 13 on one hole, Wi hit an 8-iron over the water to 6 feet for birdie on the 18th for a 6-under 66, giving him a share of the lead with Jason Dufner in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.
It's the fourth time Dufner has been atop the leaderboard after a round during the Florida swing -- except that none of those rounds have been on Sunday.
The last time Woods was seen on the US PGA Tour, he was being driven away in a golf cart after withdrawing in the middle of the final round at TPC Blue Monster with soreness and swelling in his left Achilles tendon.
Woods, a six-time champion at Bay Hill, shot a 69 without breaking a sweat, much less breaking any body parts. There was nothing particularly special about this round, except for a 30-foot birdie putt that swirled around the cup at the 15th, and a couple of three-putt bogeys that kept his score from being lower.
"I didn't really do anything great today," said Woods, who had only two approach shots inside 15 feet on the par 3s and par 4s. "I was just solid all day. I drove the ball well, hit my irons decent and putted all right. It's just one of those days where not a lot was going on."
Phil Mickelson was all over the place, going from a bunker to a magnolia tree on his way to an unlikely par; hitting a tee shot out of bounds for double bogey; hitting into the water for another double bogey; and somehow escaping with a 73.
In the group behind Mickelson, Anthony Kim made only two pars on the back nine for a 32 that shot him up the leaderboard. Kim followed two birdies with two bogeys, made two more birdies and then hit 5-iron on the 17th hole for an ace. He was leading until a pair of bogeys on the back nine gave him a 69, a good start for a guy who has been in the tank most of the year.
"I've been running my head into a brick wall," Kim said. "So I moved away from the brick wall, and now I can swing and make some birdies out here."
Nick Watney was on the opposite side of the course, and not as many people saw his 68. He was pleased to see some putts go in, which has contributed to his slow start this year.
"I putted really well and it's nice to do that because that's been my Achilles this year," Watney said.
Woods' Achilles also used to be his putting, until it actually became his Achilles tendon.
This is Woods' last tournament before the Masters, where he has not won since 2005. It's part of eight straight days of golf, which began Sunday with a scouting trip to Augusta National, and there has been concern that his Achilles tendon might flare up again. Woods said he has no way of knowing if it will tighten up on him as it did at Doral, though he said he has dealt with tightness before and it didn't linger.
Whatever the case, he wasn't worried about it on a sunny Thursday morning in his former town.
"I'm just out there playing," he said. "I'm feeling good. I've been getting treatment. Everything's good. No swelling. If I can just keep it that way, everything will be great."
Justin Rose and Sean O'Hair also were at 69, while Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III and Bud Cauley were in the group at 68. Ernie Els, who might need to win to get into the Masters, played with Woods and shot 71.
Wi has been making news for all the wrong reasons this year. He had a three-shot lead going into the final round at Pebble Beach and four-putted the opening hole for double bogey, eventually finishing second.
Last week at the Transitions Championship was more comedy than tragedy. He already was toward the bottom of the leaderboard in the final round when he tried to hit a shot through a gap in the trees, and three times saw his ball hit the tree and carom out of bounds onto the practice range. He wound up with a 13 and shot 78, and didn't give it much thought except when asked about it.
"That was just a blip on the radar screen," Wi said. "Actually, I figured I should have gone for some TOUR record so at least I could be remembered."
He doesn't have many good memories of Bay Hill -- he withdrew one year, missed the cut two other times and tied for 24th last year, with a 66 in the third round. So at least he's making progress.
Kim started the year at No. 78 in the world and wanted to play his way into the top 50 so he could qualify for the Masters. Instead, he has gone the other way in a hurry -- four missed cuts, a disqualification, and a tie for 42nd at The Honda Classic. He has fallen to No. 120 in the world, surprising for a guy considered one of the rising Americans just four years ago at the Ryder Cup.
"I'm doing all the right things to get me closer to playing," Kim said. "Getting the ball in the hole is not an issue. Getting the ball off the tee the last two years has been a struggle. I know I can get the ball in the hole. I just have to get the ball in the fairway."

FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72
Players from US unless stated
66 Charlie Wi (S Korea), Jason Duffner)
68 Nick Watney
69 Jimmy Walker, Tiger Woods, K J Choi (S Korea), Anthony Kim, Sean O'Hair, Bubba Watson.
Selected scores
70 Brian Davis (England) (T11)
71 Ernie Els (S Africa), Ian Poulter (England) (T16)
72 Martin Laird (Scotland), Sergio Garcia (Spain), Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) (T27).
73 Greg Owen (England), Phil Mickelson (T36).
74 Gary Christian (England) (T57)

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