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Woods buries Ryder Cup woe at WGC championship
2006-09-28
Tiger Woods put his Ryder Cup disappointment behind him to head the leaderboard at the World Golf Championship event here after firing a first round eight under par 63. Woods, aiming for his fifth win in this event in seven attempts, went to the turn in 29, six-under par, but did not manage another birdie until the 15th. He handed that shot back on the 17th but on the par-5 18th produced a grandstand finish, holing from 20 feet for an eagle. The world number one did not have it all his own way however as European Ryder Cup player Padraig Harrington shot 64 in a bogey-free round, as did England's Ian Poulter. Stewart Cink of the United States was round in 65 along with Ernie Els but it was Woods's finish that grabbed the attention. "I hit the ball really well, birdied the par-5 second and from then on I was in position to make quite a few birdies," said Woods. "I hit the ball close enough and hit some good putts and once the balls were going in I got momentum. Some golf courses you feel comfortable on when you first play them. "When I first played St Andrews I fell in love with the place. I feel comfortable about shaping the golf ball round this course." Woods took a five-tournament winning streak into the World Matchplay Championship at Wentworth a fortnight ago but lost in the first round to Shaun Micheel and was part of the beaten United States Ryder Cup team last weekend. He did, however, hint at a return to form in his final two matches at The K Club. Harrington was on the attack from the start, driving his ball through the par-4, 379-yard, first before getting up and down for a birdie that settled him after a poor Ryder Cup that saw him win only half a point from five matches. "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday I was extremely tired. I played a practice round on Wednesday and it was the hardest 18 holes of golf I have had to play in terms of not wanting to be out on the course," said Harrington. "But I am always up for a tournament and it helped that I started with a couple of birdies that caught my imagination." England's David Howell carded a 66 that gives him hope of overhauling Paul Casey at the top of the European Order of Merit. The first thing Howell did after Europe's Ryder Cup win was to consult his osteopath in London about his troublesome neck but that did not stop him recording seven birdies with his only blemish coming on the par-4 sixth when he missed the fairway and ended up missing a five-footer for par. Howell, who started his round slowly before making four birdies round his turn, having started at the tenth, said: "That's the way you want to start. Lots of solid shots to the green, birdie chances that I just wasn't able to take advantage of. "After a few holes you wonder whether the rest are going to start to drop and sure enough they did." His effort was matched by Jyoti Randhawa of India. Muzi.com News
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 Woods withdraws from tourney, citing injuries (2009-11-30) | | Montgomerie hails Tiger's fantastic Presidents Cup feat (2009-10-12) | | Golf, rugby make Olympic roster for 2016, 2020 (2009-10-09) | | O'Hair takes 1-shot lead over Woods, others (2009-09-25) | | Woods cruises to eight-stroke win at BMW (2009-09-13) | | South Africa's Goosen shares crowded leaderboard at Boston event (2009-09-07) | | Yang topples Tiger in the PGA (2009-08-16) | | Tiger claws out 2-shot lead at wind-whipped PGA (2009-08-15) | | Woods builds a 4-shot lead in the PGA (2009-08-15) | | Tiger rallies to win at Firestone (2009-08-09) | | Barnes: record score on pushover US Open course (2009-06-20) | | Cabrera wins 2nd major title in Masters playoff (2009-04-12) | | Cabrera wins 2nd major title in Masters playoff (2009-04-12) | | Cabrera, Perry tied for lead; no sign of Tiger (2009-04-11) | | No record, but Campbell grabs Masters lead with 65 (2009-04-09) | | PGA Tour still waiting for a dramatic end of year (2008-09-25) | | Kim gets US a crucial point at Ryder Cup (2008-09-21) | | Americans try to hold big lead at Ryder Cup (2008-09-20) | | Faldo puts Westwood, Garcia on the bench (2008-09-20) | | Padraig Harrington wins PGA for 2nd straight major (2008-08-10) | | Harrington wins British Open, ends Norman's dream (2008-07-20) | | Norman in familiar spot at major, if it was 1996 (2008-07-19) | | Breezy day at the British Open (2008-07-19) | | Woods fires 68, 1 shot behind Appleby at US Open (2008-06-14) | | Toms targets return to form in Memphis (2008-06-04) |
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