MEDINAH, Ill. – It was hyped as a showdown between Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, but in the end it was Geoff Ogilvy who may have benefited most from yesterday’s premier pairing in the first round of the 88th PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club.
It is custom at the PGA that the winners of the three previous majors are grouped together for the first two rounds. That meant Mickelson, winner of the 2006 Masters, and Woods, the British Open champ, were paired with Ogilvy, who won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot.
All three finished their round at 3-under-par 69 to trail co-leaders Lucas Glover and Chris Riley by three strokes. But come Sunday, you have to figure the overall winner will be Mickelson, Woods or Ogilvy, who held his own despite most in the gallery yelling “Go Tiger!” or “Get ’em Phil!” “When you play with those two, probably both of them are going to be there at the end of the tournament,” Ogilvy said. “If I come in with the same score as them at the end of every day, I’m going to be in good shape.” There were no swords or daggers or evil glares exchanged and no real signs of animosity between Woods and Mickelson, golf’s No. 1 and No. 2 players, which may have disappointed the media throng following the pairing. Instead, Woods, Mickelson and Ogilvy focused all of their attention and emotions on Medinah, a 7,561-yard layout that was both vulnerable and vicious.
All three players had to battle to shoot 69. Woods stumbled early with a bogey on his opening hole, the par-5 10th, while Mickelson birdied his first two holes and had visions of going low. Ogilvy was 2-under after three holes, but made the turn at even par thanks in part to a double bogey on the par-4 16th.
Generally, Mickelson was saved by his feathery short game. He carried two drivers but had difficulty finding the fairway, hitting 5 of 14 and reaching only 12 greens in regulation.
Woods was a little more consistent off the tee, finding 7 of 14 fairways and reaching 14 greens in regulation. Yet, he and Mickelson managed just four birdies against one bogey.
“I hit the ball pretty solid all day and I had good speed on the greens,” said Woods, who has won the last six majors when opening with a round in the 60s. “I missed a couple (putts) over the edge, but also made a couple, which was nice. Overall, it was just a grind-itout kind of a round.” Most of the excitement came from Ogilvy, who drained seven birdies against eight pars, one bogey and a double bogey. The Australian hit 10 fairways and needed just 28 putts to tie his better-know counterparts.
“I think the danger when you play with guys like that is you can become a spectator and just watch them play,” he said. “I’ve played with both of them a few times now, so that doesn’t happen anymore.
I think the extra nerves or adrenaline you get when you play with players like that is only good for you if you know how to play.” Mickelson and Woods were playing in the same group for the fourth time in a major and the first time since being in the final group at the 2001 Masters, won by Woods. The two didn’t talk much yesterday, but did smile during a brief exchange on the sixth hole. They’ll be in the afternoon groups today.
“I’ve played with him a bunch in the past,” Mickelson said. “We take care of our game and our business and then we shake hands afterwards. We’re in our own games. We both played OK, but we both had chances to go lower.”
TV coverage
Today TNT, 2-8 p.m.
Tomorrow TNT, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Ch. 2, 2 p.m.
-end of play
Sunday TNT, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Ch. 2, 2 p.m.
-end of play
TODAY – Few showers Chance of rain: 30% Wind: ESE 7 mph
TOMORROW – Scattered T-storms Chance of rain: 40% Wind: NE 6 mph
SUNDAY 76
First round leaderboard
Player Score to par
Lucas Glover 66 -6
Chris Riley 66 -6
Billy Andrade 67 -5
Luke Donald 68 -4
Stewart Cink 68 -4
Robert Allenby 68 -4
J.J. Henry 68 -4
Henrik Stenson 68 -4
Davis Love III 68 -4
Notables Score to par
Phil Mickelson 69 -3
Tiger Woods 69 -3
Geoff Ogilvy 69 -3
Sergio Garcia 69 -3
Retief Goosen 70 -2
Jim Furyk 70 -2
Ernie Els 71 -1
Vijay Singh 73 +1
