Tiger Woods managed a 66 in the first round at St. Andrews' Old Course to take a two shot lead over a horde of contenders at -4, including Retief Goosen and Sergio Garcia. Woods got off to a hot start, firing birdies on seven of the first nine holes, before finally making bogie on #13 after reaching the sand.
Woods' performance was almost enough to eclipse the Jack Nicklaus Story — this British Open is the Golden Bear's last, making his first-round 75 even more disappointing.
"I'd like to walk across the bridge [Swilcan Bridge at St. Andrews] Sunday instead of Friday," Nicklaus said.
Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson are both tied at +2, in 79th place. Els suffered on the back nine, shooting three consecutive bogies on 11, 12, and 13. Mickelson was -2 after nine, but struggled on the back nine — including a triple bogey 7 on the par-4 15th hole.
Woods is scheduled to tee off on Friday at 8:31 am Eastern time. Nicklaus tees off with Tom Watson at 7:58 am, Els at 2:14 am, and Mickelson at 2:47 am.
Edited: LH
Article comments