Nov. 11, 1999
Tiger's short game stalls at Johnnie Walker
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
Associated Press Writer
TA SHEE, Taiwan (AP) — Tiger Woods stayed close to the leaders
today despite missing some key putts as a trio led after the first
day of the Johnnie Walker Classic.
Woods finished two strokes off the pace at 4-under-par 68 over
the first 18 holes in the $1.3 million tournament at the Ta Shee
Golf and Country Club.
Leading after the first of four rounds were Jeremy Robinson of
England, Johan Skold of Sweden, and Michael Campbell of New Zealand,
who all finished at 6-under 66.
American Jim Furyk, who played in Woods' threesome, and Australians
Nick O'Hern and Peter Senior all shot 67s. At 68 with Woods were
Marten Olander of Sweden and Phillip Price of Wales.
Although he wowed the gallery with his big drives, Woods' short
game kept him out of the lead.
“I hit the ball very well today. I just wasn't able to get
anything going on the back nine,” Woods said after finishing
the 7,150-yard course in suburban Taipei. “I gave myself
some chances and just was not able to make the putts.”
Woods, defending the title he won last year in Thailand, notched
up four birdies on the first nine holes.
However, he stalled on the back nine, not scoring another birdie
until the 17th hole, and then finishing up with a bogey on the
18th.
“I hit a bad shot and buried underneath the lip ... and hit
a great bunker shot to 12 feet and just didn't make the putt,”
he said.
But he was satisfied with his overall performance.
“I made a lot of putts on the front nine,” Woods said.
“I just was not able to make anything on the back nine. I
lipped out about three or four putts. You really can't get too
mad about that.”
The world's No. 1 golfer said he and other players in his group
were bothered by fans and news photographers, noting that they
all had to back off shots several times because of cameras and
flashes in the galleries.
“That's no big deal, but when you get us in our golf swing,
it's pretty tough,” Woods said.
Local favorite Wang Ter-chang was Taiwan's best finisher in the
132-player field, shooting a 74.
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