Players Attack a Soft Course

Rain at the Players Championship was not unusual, only the events that followed--a relatively easy golf course, Scott Hoch among the leaders and a happy and heckle-free round for Colin Montgomerie.

“So far, I’m glad I came,” Montgomerie said after a 70 at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., his best start in six years. Four weeks ago, he threatened to boycott U.S. tournaments because of what he perceived as excessive heckling.

When darkness fell on a bizarre Thursday on the TPC at Sawgrass, 52 players in the field were under par and two dozen players were within three shots of the lead shared by Hoch, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco at five under par.

“Without a whole lot of wind, any course is going to be defenseless when you have a big rain like this and the greens are soft,” Hoch said.

The leaders were among 74 players who had to return this morning to finish the opening round, delayed by two hours because of morning showers. Also in that group was Tiger Woods, who ended his day with his first bogey of the tournament and was at one under with four holes to play.

That Hoch is among the leaders is strange only because he prefers Sawgrass to be tougher. In fact, Hoch threatened to quit playing when Greg Norman set a record score of 264 on a tame Stadium Course in 1994.

“For years, they didn’t have much rough,” Hoch said. “Hit anywhere, putting contest. You hit anywhere other than the water, and you would be all right. That’s not my game. They made the conditions more conducive to my game.”

It was plenty tame Thursday, and Hoch didn’t have any complaints.

Neither did Montgomerie, which was equally surprising. The Scot left the Match Play Championship in a huff after one fan cheered when he missed a putt, and said it was not worth his time to play any more in the United States.

“He’s had a tough go of it over here,” Hoch said, a favorite target in Britain because of his disdain for certain British Open courses. “I can sympathize with him because I’m not really big in England.”

Having won Bay Hill last week for the third consecutive time, Woods is trying to become the first back-to-back winner in the 28-year history of the Players.

He opened with eight pars, a mixture of good recoveries and missed opportunities on the green.

“It totally changed the speed of the greens,” Woods said of the rain. “You had to recalibrate and get adjusted to the feel.”

Six players from the morning starters were tied for the clubhouse lead at three-under 69--PGA champion David Toms, Mark Calcavecchia, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Steve Lowery and Jeff Sluman.

Nick Faldo is at four under through 13 holes.

The rain came down hard in the morning, taking the edge off the opening round of a tournament regarded as the fifth major. Whipping wind disappeared when the storm passed, leaving for easier conditions in the afternoon.

Told that he was off to a fast start, Allenby raised his eyebrows.

“Is three under a fast start?” he said. “I think you’ll find there will be a few scores that are better. It’s only getting easier.”

Not for Ernie Els, who bogeyed his first two holes and wound up with a 76. He is 16 over in his last four rounds at the Players Championship.

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Ashli Bunch, winless in four seasons on the LPGA Tour, shot a career-best eight-under 64 to take the first-round lead in the Welch’s/Circle K Championship at Tucson.

Bunch was nearly done when the wind kicked up, causing problems for two-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam and the other late starters.

Sorenstam, the only back-to-back winner in the event’s 21-year history, was eight shots behind after a 72. On Sunday, Sorenstam shot a 76 while blowing a four-shot lead that led to a playoff loss to Rachel Teske in Phoenix.

Pat Hurst, Mi Hyun Kim, Dorothy Delasin and Nancy Scranton opened with 65s, and 1999 winner Juli Inkster, Mhairi McKay and Karen Weiss shot 66.