Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009

Woods shoots 66, shares lead in Australia

Making a rare appearance in Australia, Tiger Woods shot a six-under 66 to earn a share of the lead Thursday at the JBWere Masters.

Woods collected seven birdies through 17 flawless holes, then made a bogey on the last while playing his first round in the country in 11 years. He was joined in first place by Australia's James Nitties and South Africa's Branden Grace.

The trio held a one-shot lead over Cameron Percy of Australia and New Zealand's Doug Holloway. Three more Australians -- Greg Chalmers, Mathew Goggin and Peter Nolan -- were another stroke further back at 68.

Woods was just 22 years old when he made his Presidents Cup debut at Royal Melbourne in 1998, the last time an Australian gallery had an up-close look at him.

Before Thursday, they hadn't seen him in a stroke-play setting in 12 years.

As expected, many thousands turned out at Kingston Heath for the experience of seeing the world's top golfer first hand. They circled the greens when he putted and lined the fairways on every hole.

Facing a similar scene last week in Shanghai, Woods was often frustrated by shutterbugs at the HSBC Champions. He shouted at one photographer during the final round who snapped a picture during his backswing.

Woods had help Thursday dealing with the same problem.

"I think the people were extremely respectful and they were trying to police themselves, which was great," said Woods. "You don't find that very often."

The build-up to his first round ended when Woods teed off in an early threesome with a pair of Australians -- defending champion Rod Pampling and Craig Parry.

Their opening tee shots at the 10th hole were broadcast live on a local TV station, which broke from its morning show several times for updates on Woods.

Accustomed to the attention, Woods didn't disappoint. After starting with back-to-back pars, he made his first birdie at the 12th despite hitting into a bunker. He added just one more birdie on the back nine, two-putting from in front of the green at the par-five 14th.

Woods caught fire on the front nine starting with another two-putt birdie at No. 1. He knocked a seven-iron to five feet for a birdie at the fourth.

He reached as low as seven-under with three consecutive birdies, including a 20-foot putt on No. 7 and a 10-footer on No. 8. But Woods hit his final tee shot next to a tree at No. 9, hacked out to the rough and made a closing bogey to end at 66 for a share of the lead.

Grace had eight birdies and two bogeys for his 66, while Nitties posted four birdies and an eagle in a spotless round. Both players are seeking their first victories on the European Tour, which has joined with the Australasian Tour to co-sanction the event.

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