Fiji's Vijay Singh hits his tee shot on the 12th hole during first round play in the 2006 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia yesterday. Singh, a former Masters champion, scored a par three on the hole. - REUTERS
AUGUSTA, Georgia (AP):
VIJAY SINGH shot a bogey-free, 5-under 67 yesterday and took a one-stroke lead over Rocco Mediate after the opening round of The Masters at Augusta National.
First-year competitor Arron Oberholser was another shot back.
Singh and Mediate shared the honour of being the first two players to birdie the 11th, a tough hole that became even harder when Augusta National decided to lengthen its course to 7,445 yards.
While Singh is a three-time major champion who won the Masters in 2000, Mediate qualified for Augusta based on a sixth-place finish at the U.S. Open last summer. He's been mired in one of the worst slumps of his career, finishing 114th on the U.S. tour order of merit a year ago an improvement on his 176th-place showing in 2004.
"I haven't been here in a while," Mediate quipped as he walked into the interview room. "Still the same, though."
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Oberholser didn't have high expectations coming into his first Masters, and the 31-year-old American's attitude remained the same after he shot 69.
"No one expects me to win this championship," he said. "I don't expect me to win this championship. I have goals, sure, but they're very small ones. Baby steps, basically. This is not going to be my last Masters, that's for sure. Learning this course is paramount."
Woods, the defending champion, came in as an overwhelming favourite to win his fifth green jacket only Jack Nicklaus has more and felt good about his opening 72.
"I thought I played really well, actually," Woods said. "I'm better than I was last year. I'm in good shape."
STRUGGLING
Plenty of golfers were struggling on the longer course.
U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell had a 75. Two-time Master, winner Jose Maria Olazabal struggled to a 76. So did American Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman, two days after he was uninjured in a random, drive-by shooting on the way to pick up his family at the Augusta airport. David Duval shot an 84 for his worst Masters round ever.
Singh was 1 under when he went to 11, "the hole we all think about before we go out there." He pulled off a 5-iron from the right rough, the ball settling 10 feet from the flag.
"I had a difficult shot there," he said. "I was lucky to make birdie."
Phil Mickelson, Australia's Geoff Ogilvy and South Africans Retief Goosen and Tim Clark were at 70.
