Watson, Molinari clubhouse PGA leaders
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2010 US PGA Championship | Round One | 13 Aug 2010
A fog delay of just over three hours on day one of the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits has set the tournament back considerably. Half the field will be required to return early on Friday morning to complete their opening rounds before they set out soon after in round two.
Subject to further delays the chances of completing all 72 holes by Sunday night may yet be in jeopardy.
As play was called on day one at 8.00pm it was the Italian Francesco Molinari and American Bubba Watson who held the early lead in the clubhouse having started their rounds in the morning field although after the delay their actual start times would be rescheduled until the late morning.
Watson was in the 5th group out from the first tee at 10.55am and Molinari just half and hour later but from the 10th.
Both players started and finished their rounds strongly. Watson opened with a birdie but it was his impressive finish that set up such a significant position for him.
Three birdies in his last seven holes saw him finish with his round of 68 while for Molinari two early birdies got his round underway nicely and with just one blemish at his 13th hole he powered home with three birdies in his last five holes to join Watson in the lead.
Watson’s form in 2010 has been a roller coaster with a win at the Travelers event in Hartford followed by two missed cuts before a better week last week at the Bridgestone Championship.
He is however a creative player, capable of some unique shot-making and often using his great length to advantage.
This is Watson’s 12th career major championship and, with only the one top ten when 5th in Angel Cabrera’s US Open in 2007, how he handles the remaining 54 holes will be watched with interest.
His preparation for today’s first round did not really give a clue to how he might perform. Here’s what he said when asked about the impact of the early delay.
“I get excited about playing golf. So I stayed up late last night when I should have been going to bed. My wife was yelling at me to go to bed. I was up playing games on my phone.”
“So this morning she knew I was tired, she knew I was – what’s the nice word to say – angry. I wasn’t myself this morning when I woke up. So she told me just to eat something and make sure you have enough energy. Make sure you stay hydrated because it’s going to be hot.”
“So that’s all I was trying to do during the delay, just sit there with her and be still and not lose a little bit of energy that I had. So maybe that helped not having much energy, I played well.”
Molinari on the other hand has played in only four or five Major championships but has already recorded a top ten in this very event last year. He made reference to the similarities of Whistling Straits to some European courses and suggested that might have assisted his cause.
“I just got here after the Bridgestone last week and I had two practice rounds, 18 holes and Tuesday and nine holes yesterday and I really like the golf course. I think that it seems the same like courses in Europe but obviously it’s playing a lot softer than what European courses are usually and I like the golf course, I like the greens, so I’m just looking forward to the rest of the week.”
Molinari also indicated that McDowell and Oosthuisen winning majors this year might also have helped his mindset.
“We play a lot of golf together back in Europe, so if you see those guys winning majors you know that can you do it. But still it’s really really hard to win a tournament like this and it happens a few times that maybe somebody who is not really in the top-10 players wins, but I think it’s not going to last forever.”
“I mean I don’t know how to say it, but it’s, I think obviously Tiger is going to get back to his standards and Phil is going to win more majors, and so you just need to play really well and try to grab the occasion when you have it.”
Also at 4 under and in a share of the lead but with several holes to complete in round one are the very much in form, Matt Kuchar, Ernie Els and Nick Watney. All three have played well in recent months and one could easily end up as the outright first round leader when the round is completed tomorrow.
The leading Australian is Jason Day who took a share of the lead early and was still at 4 under through 15 holes of his round before he bogeyed the 16th, birdied the 17th and then dropped another shot at the last. In only his second major championship Day has made an encouraging start.
After his round Day described his satisfaction with his game but also outlined an issue with his health, namely the result of an ongoing sinus problem which may require surgery before long.
“I felt like my game’s been pretty strong. It’s been moving in the right direction. I needed to work on a few things in my game, but the biggest problem with me has been always been my health.”
“I felt awful the last two days of the World Golf Championships last week at Akron and I was a little lightheaded and a little shaky out there today. I ate like six or seven Cliff Bars and I drank about 10 bottles of water out there today. And just it would come on every couple of holes.”
“So I’m very happy with the way everything turned out. I played very well and I’m just going to try and go out over the next few days and try and play as disciplined golf as I possibly can. I think if I can try and give myself as many opportunities as I can on the greens out there for birdie, I should not be too far away from the lead come Sunday.”
Other Australians also made encouraging starts to the championship. Michael Sim at 2 under and Marc Leishman and former champion Steve Elkington at 1 under are very much in the mix.
They have the advantage of not having to rush to the course early tomorrow to complete their rounds. Stuart Appleby at even par is in a similar situation while still on the golf course Adam Scott is also at even par through 13 holes.
Play recommences at 7.00am on Friday morning local time.
