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Sabbatini leads Barclays with flawless 63
2007-08-23
South African Rory Sabbatini fired eight birdies in a flawless round of eight-under 63 to grab a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Barclays Classic on Thursday. Sabbatini led a shootout at a Westchester Country Club course softened by downpours earlier in the week as the season-ending FedExCup playoff series got off to a hot start. K.J. Choi of South Korea and American Rich Beem shot 64s, one stroke better than two-times Westchester winner Ernie Els of South Africa, Swede Carl Pettersson and Americans Steve Flesch and Brian Gay, who needed just 20 putts. "The course was playing very easy today," said Sabbatini, who lost a 2004 Westchester playoff to Sergio Garcia. "There was no wind out there and it was like shooting darts at the flags." Sixty-three players among the 138-man field broke par. "Whenever you get this type of golf course soft, you've got to take advantage," said world number four Els, twice a winner on the traditional parkland-style course. Tied for eighth on five-under-par 66 were Americans Jeff Maggert, Briny Baird and Heath Slocum. A group of seven players bunched at 67 included third-ranked Phil Mickelson and world number five Adam Scott of Australia. STRUGGLING SINGH Another shot back at three-under 68 were a dozen players including former U.S. Open champions Retief Goosen of South Africa, Australian Geoff Ogilvy and American Corey Pavin. Defending champion Vijay Singh of Fiji, a three-times Westchester winner, struggled to a four-over-par 75. Players are competing for points in addition to the $7 million purse and $1.26 million top prize. The leading 120 on the FedExCup points list after the tournament advance to next week's Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston before 70 players qualify for the September 6-9 BMW Championship in Chicago. The playoff series ends with the top 30 at the September 13-16 Tour Championship in Atlanta, where a $10 million bonus in deferred compensation will go to the overall points champion. Sabbatini, who won this year's Colonial and was in final-round contention at the Wachovia and WGC-Bridgestone before losing to Tiger Woods, said he is focused on winning. "I'm approaching it the same way I approach every other week," he told reporters. "I'm not thinking about three weeks down the road. I'm not thinking about two weeks down the road. I'm just thinking about each round as it comes and I'm here to try and win a golf tournament."
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