GOLF THE INTERNATIONAL : Daly’s Effect Doesn’t Vanish in Thin Air

Long-hitting John Daly made his first official trip around Castle Pines’ 7,570-yard layout Thursday much as he had finished up the PGA Championship last week--with new-found fans cheering his every move.

Easily the biggest draw on the opening day of The International, Daly, who qualified as a “rookie sensation” after last week’s unexpected victory at Crooked Stick, failed to play to his strength but still came in with a passable plus-six score.

Daly had four birdies and two bogeys. First-round leader Keith Clearwater had a tournament-record plus-18 with nine birdies.

Under the modified Stableford scoring system used in The International, birdies count as two points, eagles five, pars zero, bogeys minus-one and double bogeys or worse minus-three.

The 144-man field will be cut to the high 72 scorers after 36 holes, and point totals will be carried over to Saturday’s round, when the field is reduced to 24 for Sunday’s final round.

Afternoon play was interrupted on three occasions by thunderstorms and eventually halted by darkness.

Half the field was still out. They marked their positions on the course and were scheduled to return at 7 a.m. today to complete play.

“This format is great for me,” Daly said. “After winning a major, it was nice to not have to put a score on the scorecard.”

Daly wowed the large gallery that followed him with drives approaching 400 yards in the rarefied air at Castle Pines’ 6,500-foot high venue.

“I hit the ball pretty solid,” the 25-year-old Daly said. “I mis-hit some irons, but I think it was because I was a little tired.”

On the 644-yard first hole, Daly’s drive left him a four-iron from the green. A four-iron for Daly at this altitude translates to about 245 yards, which means his drive was in the vicinity of 400 yards.

Despite his prodigious length off the tee, which makes all of Castle Pines’ par-fives reachable in two, Daly was unable to capitalize. He parred three of them and scored a birdie only on the 492-yard 17th hole, which he reached with a driver and an eight-iron.

At the PGA, Daly played the par-fives in 12-under par, his finishing score.

On the 535-yard eighth hole, Daly reached the back of the green with a driver and a three-iron but three-putted from 35 feet.

His longest approach on any par-four required an eight-iron, and on the 477-yard fifth hole he needed a wedge.

Daly said he had been eager to play again, noting all the attention after his PGA victory Sunday “made it seem like I hadn’t played in three months.”

He was relaxed throughout the round, stopping to sign autographs as he left each tee, something he claims “we all should do.”

“We’re out here for the fans,” he explained. “And for me, it’s hard to say no.”