Woods fights off pain to fire a 68
Tiger Woods pursed his lips and cursed under his breath as he stood over his first tee shot, feeling spasms in his back and knowing the sharp pain that was coming with each shot.
He yelped after his second drive. His knees buckled after making contact on the sixth tee. He stopped a half-dozen times and lifted his shirt so his caddie could rub heating cream between his shoulder blades.
What he didn't expect was the score -- a 4-under-par 68 that left Woods two shots behind British Open champion Todd Hamilton after one painful round in the
"I thought it might loosen up a little bit, but it didn't," Woods said. "I was hoping the spasms would go away, but that didn't happen, either. I just had to get through it somehow and post a number."
Woods hurt his back when he fell asleep in an awkward position while flying home from New York last week in his private plane.
By the end of a cool, overcast day at Mount Juliet, only the score next to his name looked normal.
"Quite nice," Hamilton said. "Even if the guy is healthy or hurt, he's got a big heart. He can be hitting the ball all over the place -- which he's done a lot lately -- and still shoot 2, 3, 4 under. The guy never gives up."
Hamilton had four straight birdies down the stretch before he made his only bogey of the day on the final hole, going from rough-to-rough and having to chip to 4 feet to limit the damage. He wound up with a 66 and a one-stroke lead over a half-dozen players. Among those at 67 was Adam Scott, who made quite a turnaround. The 23-year-old Aussie couldn't make a 16-inch putt on the 11th, then couldn't miss and had five birdies on his final six holes.
Sergio Garcia joined European Ryder Cup teammates Miguel Angel Jimenez and Luke Donald at 67, along with Steve Flesch and Stuart Appleby.
Woods was among eight players at 68, including US Open champion Retief Goosen and Lee Westwood.
PGA -- John Senden closed his round of 7-under 65 with his second eagle and shared the lead with Harrison Frazar and Glen Day after the first round of the Southern Farm Bureau Classic at Madison, Miss. Frazar birdied his last two holes and Day had birdies on four of his first seven at the 7,199-yard Annandale Golf Club course.
Cleveland Tour -- Marshfield's Geoff Sisk fired a 5-under 65 to win his third circuit tournament, wrapping up Player of the Year honors at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine. Sisk rallied from one stroke back of Kyle Gallo, who carded a 68, en route to his 12-under total and his fifth tournament victory of the season.
MGA Seniors -- Don Anderson of the Kittansett Club carded a 5-under 67 to take a four-stroke lead into today's final round of the Massachusetts Senior Championship at Sankaty Head Golf Club in Siasconset. Joseph Monahan, Tom Bergeron, and Tom Martin are tied for second at 71 while defending champion James Drohen is eight strokes back.
