Garcia starts strong

Conditions turn tricky in afternoon as Els' good round turns sour

May 9, 2008

Sergio Garcia put together his third straight impressive round at The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The first two gave him a runner-up finish last year. The 6-under-par 66 yesterday was only a great start.

With growing confidence in his balky putting stroke and superb ball-striking that has become his hallmark, Garcia birdied all the par 5s and picked up a bonus birdie with a 50-foot putt on the 14th hole to build a two-shot lead.

It was a good step toward ending an 0-for-53 drought on the PGA Tour, the longest of his career.

"At the end of the day, the only thing I can do is keep working on it, keep giving myself chances, and it's going to happen," Garcia said. "I feel like I'm getting closer and closer. At least now, I feel like I can do it, and it's just a matter of being able to do it."

Kenny Perry and Paul Goydos each had a 68 in the mild, morning breeze on a perfectly conditioned golf course. Sawgrass turned tricky, if not downright difficult, in the afternoon, and Ernie Els was among those who paid dearly.

Els was at 2-under until his wedge came up 20 feet short of the island green on the 17th, and he barely kept his third shot on land. He wound up with a triple bogey, and a 12-foot birdie on the final hole for a 72 didn't improve his spirits much.

"I think they should blow it up," Els said. "Everything you worked for in 4 1/2 hours, in one shot it's all gone."

Of the 34 players who broke par in the opening round, only eight played in the afternoon in the increasingly blustery conditions. Todd Hamilton was the best among late starters with a 69, and Wachovia winner Anthony Kim rallied for a 70.

Phil Mickelson, trying to become the first player in the history of this tournament to successfully defend his title, was flirting with the leaders until a sloppy middle to his round put him at 70.

"I feel as though I'm turning 66s into 70s, and I'm going to have to fix that this weekend," he said.

• LPGA Michelob Ultra Open // Scotland's Mhairi McKay shot a course record-tying 63 to take the first-round lead in Williamsburg, Va. Annika Sorenstam and Sun Young Yoo finished with 7-under 64s, and Lorena Ochoa and Diana D'Alessio had 65s. Six others were three off the lead, and there were eight more four behind. Michelle Wie, in her first tour event since February, shot a 4-over 75. Though 90 players in the field of 144 shot par or better, Wie was lucky to get off as easily as she did. She pulled her drive on the par-5 seventh, and only a tree kept it from flying out of bounds. She hit into the green-side rough on the par-3 13th, and it kicked onto the green. She hit her drive way right on the wide-open par-4 14th, and another tree knocked it down.