We have Golf!!

We are well underway this morning, and the course seems to be in decent shape from what I can tell, so thumbs up to the Bethpage Black groundskeeping crew! Justin Leonard came out hot this morning and closed out his front 9 at 2 under par 33, but made mistakes on #10 and double bogied and fell back to even par. Tiger is on #11 after making a 15 foot par save to remain at 2 over, after bogeying #7 and making par on 8 and 9 to close out at 2 over par for a 37. Paddy Harrington is looking to turn the corner after a great drive and sticks his approach to within 4-5 feet, and will have a birdie opportunity. Tiger's approach has lipped the cup and he has a 2-3 footer for birdie to get back to -1. Jeff Breahut is the only one under par at -1.


7:28 A.M. Update:

Graeme McDowell has birdied #2 (started on back nine) and now has a share of the lead at -1. Angel Cabrera makes his 18 foot putt for birdie and is back to -1. Paddy Harrington really needs this to make this putt for birdie as he sits at 6 over par, and he just pushes it right, and remains at +6. Tiger his made his 3 foot birdie putt and moves back to +1. Texas A&M golfer Bronson Burgoon is hanging tough. He is through 6 holes (started on back 9) but sits at +3, following his double start on #10 and then has made par out with the exception of #13 where he bogied.

7:51 A.M:

McDowell has made a birdie on #4 and remains the only player under par at two under par through his 1st 13 holes, while 7 players lurk at even par. Former Texas A&M Aggie golfer, Andrew Parr, who was at -1 when he resumed play this morning is struggling today and currently is sitting at +2 through 9 holes. Tiger will play 1st with his approach at #12 and ends up on the fringe on the far right side, as Cabrera is on the green and sits from about 30-35 feet for birdie. Cabrera nearly holes his putt, but ends up making par, and Tiger follows suit and makes par and remains at +1 as well.

8:30 A.M.:

We have our 1st group in this morning and Jeff Brehaut has turned in an even par 70. The Champions group (Woods/Cabrera/Harrington) are on the par 3 14th, and Paddy Harrington and Woods both will have birdie opportunities while Cabrera is deep in a sand trap. Cabrera gets up and down for par and remains of +1. Harrington makes his 2nd straight birdie and is now back to +5, and Tiger makes his birdie and is knocking on the door at even par. McDowell remains at -2 and Martin is still sitting at -1.

9:10 A.M:

The toughest hole on the course, #15, is playing just that today, as Tiger, Cabrera, and Harrington all struggle, and Woods double bogies and falls to +2, Cabrera to +3, and Harrington back to +7. Phil "Lefty" Mickelson, is on the range warming up and his 1st round is planned to start around 10:06 A.M. CST.

Two Amateurs at the Top! Ben Martin, a 21 year old at Clemson University is leading the pack at-2, thru 12 (he started on back 9) and Drew Weaver, a recent Virginia Tech graduate has turned in a 69 for his 1st round score, while Graeme McDowell still sits at -1. Tom Rinaldi is interviewing Weaver now and they are discussing just how close he was to the shooting. He says he was about 100 yards from Norris Hall and heard the shots fired and just tried to get to safety. Scary stuff!

10:00 A.M.:

The champions group has finished their 1st round and it got a little ugly. Tiger plays 4 over par through the last 4 holes and finishes his round with a 74, for +4. Cabrera also turned in a 74, and Harrington turned in a 76 for +6. An Aggie update: Burgoon just bogied 15th hole (#6) and falls to +4 after posting 10 consecutive pars. It's time for Lefty to take the course!!! Martin gives back a stroke and falls back to -1 and we have a 7 way tie at the top at -1.

12:30 P.M.

IT'S A SCORING BONANZA OUT THERE!

The afternoon group is seeing the sunshine and loving the course at the moment. 12 players currently on the course are under par, including your leaders Mike Weir and Peter Hansen at -3. Other notables at towards the top are Rocco Mediate, Anthony Kim, and Claudio Villegas all at -2. Phil Mickelson just drained a 25 footer to move back to -1 under par and is playing well, though still missing some fairways, as he did on 18 when he laid up with an iron off the tee and still ended up in the sand.

Stay tuned for updates.