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  • Players find going rough on first day

  • Thursday, Jul. 15
    Thursday notebook: Up close with Woods

    ESPN Golf Online news services

    CARNOUSTIE, Scotland -- What a reception Tiger Woods got on the 18th green in Thursday's first round of the British Open.

     Tiger Woods
    One of Tiger Woods' fans gets a little too close on the 18th green.

    As Woods was standing on the green talking with Ian Woosnam, a scantily clad young woman raced up and gave the American a hug and a kiss.

    "I looked up and there she was," Woods said. "She ran over, gave me a hug and quick kiss and ran off."

    Woods said he was startled but never worried for his safety.

    "When I looked at her I could see that she didn't have anything in her hands because her hands were up," he said. "She didn't have a whole lot on so I guess I assumed it was a pretty benign situation."

    Did he get her telephone number, Woods was asked.

    "No, she ran off."

    18-over and counting
    David Duval's back-to-back 75s -- 10-over -- in the last two rounds of the U.S. Open looks pretty good in the face of what happened Thursday.

    Duval, hanging in against the wind and wheatfield rough at Carnoustie, was only 4-over after 11 holes, but bogeyed four of the last five for an 8-over-79 in the first round of the British Open.

    Duval was the harshest critic of Carnoustie on Wednesday, calling it "a great course spoiled" by knee-high rough and fairways as narrow as 14 yards. He was even more pointed after his first round as the tabloid Sun Thursday called him and fellow American Mark Calcavecchia "Pampered Whiners."

    "The Royal and Ancient ... I don't know what they're trying to accomplish," Duval said.

    "The U.S. Open was very difficult, but it was enjoyable. It shouldn't be stress free, but if you can't enjoy an event like this, then you've got to question what's going on.

    "When the guys said 300 would be the winning score, everybody thought they were crazy. But you never know."

    Duval, whose score was about average, was echoed by dozens of slump-shouldered players coming off the course like U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart and Tom Watson, who won the last British Open played at Carnoustie in 1975.

     
    THURSDAY AT THE OPEN
      Quote of the day: "I feel like I've fought a war. ... If you took an ordinary 15-handicapper out there today in this kind of wind and he actually kept a score and played fair, breaking 120 would be pretty difficult for him." -- Hal Sutton after shooting 73.

    Shot of the day: Ernie Els' 3-wood shot at the 17th. He hit it to 6 feet and made the putt for a birdie, one of the few birdies on the hole during the day.

    Shock of the day: Little-known Australian pro Rodney Pampling teed off in the second group at 7:25 a.m. local time, matched par at 71, then saw it hold up all day for the first-round lead.

    Don't forget about: Justin Leonard. The 1997 British Open champion put up a solid 73 in the difficult conditions and is just two shots out of the lead.

    "It could actually be a place where people wish they'd missed the cut," said Stewart, who had a 79.

    "This is the easy wind," said Watson, who had an 82. "If it was blowing in the opposite direction ... it would be tougher."

    How much tougher than 1975? "Well, I shot 69 in the first round, so 13 shots tougher."

    Not spectacular for Rose
    Justin Rose, the young Englishman who tied for fourth in last year's British Open and then missed 21 straight cuts after turning pro, opened with a respectble 79.

    "I would have settled for 77," the 18-year-old Rose said. "If you shoot 71 on this course, that's the equivalent of 5-under par in my book. I wouldn't say the course was unfair but obviously on a day like this, it makes a very stiff test."

    Rose's goal on Friday? "Make the cut," he said.

    He probably has a better chance than usual.

    Torrance, Funk pull out
    Scotland's Sam Torrance saw his consecutive appearances in the British Open end at 27. He pulled out Thursday, saying his game wasn't up to testing Carnoustie. His best finish was a tie for fifth in 1981.

    Torrance's spot was taken by Neil Price, the second reserve. The first reserve, Scott Watson, took the place of American Bill Glasson, who withdrew on Wednesday.

    American Fred Funk pulled out with a shoulder injury after shooting a 12-over 83.

    Bogey fever
    Sandra Ross, who supervises the massive scoreboard in the press center, ran out of light blue cards Thursday with "5" printed on them to signify a bogey. So she had to shift to an emergency purple "5."

    "I had to give a call and have 50 more printed up, but they couldn't do them in light blue, so we got purple," she said. "I don't think we expected that many bogeys today."

    Maybe she didn't, but most of the 156-man field did.

    Divots

  • Watson won $11,700 in 1975 at Carnoustie. This year's winner gets $546,000.

  • Zane Scotland will be 17 on Saturday. The young Englishman, though he's not the youngest to play in the British Open, would be the youngest to win it. That honor is held by young Tom Morris, who was 17, five months and eight days old when he won in 1868.

  • American Brian Watts, a little-known professional a year ago when he lost the British Open playoff to Mark O'Meara, had a first-round 74.

  • The 10th hole at Carnoustie is named "South America," nothing to do with other holes carrying names like Gulley, Brae, Whins and Jockie's Burn. The 10th is named after a local who gave a party on the golf club grounds as he prepared to emigrate the next day to South America. But he got so drunk he wandered to the 10th fairway, missed his plane and never did leave Carnoustie.

  • The 459-yard, par-4 17th was the scene of Ben Hogan's only double bogey when he won in 1953.

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