A vicious wind scattered
the stars today as only three players managed to break par in a horror opening
round of the Ericsson Masters at Huntingdale Golf Club.
Spanish sensation Sergio Garcia was firstly left stranded as his playing partner, Australian Open champion
Aaron Baddeley , pulled out with the flu then struggled for control under swirling
northerly gusts.
At the end of the day, Paul
Gow at two under par was the overnight leader but the New South Welshman said
he could barely stand up at times on the course.
Gow shot a 71 to head Victorian
Chris Gaunt and Queenslander Shane Tait at one under, while Garcia fired 78.
Greg Norman battled but
remained in touch with a 76 and defending champion Craig Spence brushed aside
the conditions and jetlag to notch an even par 73.
"The wind was coming that
hard at you, you couldn't stand up a lot of the time," Gow said later.
"On putts and even teeing
off with driver you really have to hold your posture and stand strong. It is
really hard, it would be nice to be another two stone heavier.
"I guess you've got to keep
your head on. Whatever shot you pick you have to play. It is quite easy when
it is windy to pick a shot and then you don't actually hit the shot.
"If the wind takes it, so
be it. It's not hard to lose your head out there," he said.
Nevertheless Gow, a 29-year-old
whose only previous win was on the US Nike Tour in 1997, is upbeat about his
chances this week.
"I think I can win this
week. This is my sort of golf course, it is a matter of smart play and keeping
the ball in play," he said.
"I'm flighting the ball
well. If it is windy like this for the next three days that would be sensational.
I'd like that, then it is just who can hole a few putts coming down the stretch."
Spence, who arrived late
from the US yesterday, showed no signs of weariness but said he had never seen
Huntingdale in such a vicious mood in summer.
"That is about as tough
as it gets," he said. "But I'm not really far behind and no-one is going to do
anything crazy out there."
Norman said the long layout
was hard to play with 40 knot winds and players in danger of incurring penalties
as they addressed the ball, which could move with the wind, on the greens.
But he remained philosophical:
"All in all you just have to grin and bear it and hit the ball solid from tee
to green. If you get it in the hole so be it."
Norman said he felt he should
have shot 70 but his round was ruined by six three putts. The rest of his game
he put at a "nine" out of 10.
Garcia squinted through
sore eyes as the wind whipped up dust storms but described his five over par
78 as "not as bad as I thought it would be after the first nine."
The Spaniard said he was
disappointed at not having the chance to play alongside Baddeley, who was bed-ridden.
"I'm not saying I would
shoot a lower score playing with Aaron but I'm sure I would have had more fun
chatting and talking to him, " he said.
71: Paul Gow (NSW)
72: Chris Gaunt (Vic), Shane
Tait (Qld)
73: Marcus Cain (Qld), Craig
Spence (Vic), Steve Webster (UK)
74: Brett Rumford (WA),David
Tapping (UK), Richard Green (Vic), Shane Robinson (SA), Rodger Davis (NSW), Stuart
Appleby (Vic), Andrew Webster (Vic a), Scott Gardiner (NSW a), Scott Hend (Qld)
75: Anthony Painter (NSW),
Cameron Percy (Vic), Euan Walters (Vic), Peter Lonard (NSW), Peter Senior (Qld),
Scott Laycock (Vic), Sung-Yoon Kim (Korea a), Anthony Edwards (Qld), David Podlich
(Qld), Craig Jones (Qld), Michael Clayton (Vic), Rob Willis (NSW), Matthew Lane
(NZ), Michael Campbell (NZ), Marcus Wheelhouse (NZ)
76: Darren Cole (Vic), Adam
Le Vesconte (Qld), Paul Moloney (Vic), Craig Carmichael (ACT), Glenn Joyner (Vic),
Yoshinori Mizumaki (Japan), Stuart Bouvier (Qld), Greg Norman (Qld), Marcus Norgren
(Sweden), David Grenfell (Qld), Jim Benepe (US), Paul Sheehan (NSW), Scott Wearne
(Vic), Steve Collins (WA), Wayne Smith (WA)
77: Andre Stolz (NSW), Kim
Felton (WA), David A Armstrong (Vic), David McKenzie (Vic), Wayne Grady (Qld),
Andrew Tschudin (Vic), Nathan Gatehouse (NSW), Bob Shearer (Vic), Brendan Jones
(NSW), Darren Spencer (Vic), Ed Stedman (NSW), Geoff Ogilvy (Vic), Jon Riley
(Qld), Robert Allenby (Vic)
78: Brett Ogle (Qld), Craig
Hanson (Vic), John Sender (Qld), Richard Backwell (Qld), Sergio Garcia (Spain),
Tony Carolan (Qld), Yasuharu Imano (Japan), Patrick Burke (US), Nick O'Hern (WA),
Peter O'Malley (NSW), Nathan Green (NSW)
79: Andrew Bonhomme (Qld),
Gary Simpson (SA), Gavin Coles (NSW), Matthew Ecob (NSW), Stephen Leaney (WA),
Tim Elliott (Vic), Tony Mills (Vic), Tony Christie (NZ), Lucas Parsons (NSW),
Jarrod Moseley (WA), David Carter (England), Daniel Chopra (Sweden), David Hill
(Vic), John Wade (Vic)
80: Adam Crawford (Qld),
Adam Scott (Qld a), Brad Bone (Tas a), Brad Lamb (Vic a), Brendan Chant (SA),
David Smail (NZ), Grant Dodd (Qld), Jason Dawes (Vic), Martin Doyle (Vic), Martyn
Roberts (Qld), Michael Harwood (Vic), Raymond Russell (Scotland), Mark Allen
(Vic), Justin Cooper (SA), Wayne Perske (Qld a)
81: Brad King (WA), Chris
Gray (WA), Neil Kerry (NSW), Robert Stephens (Vic), Tobias Dier (Germany), Rod
Pampling (Qld), Robin Byrd (USA).
82: Byron Clarkson (WA),
David Bransdon (Vic), Terry Price (Qld), Jamie McCallum (Vic), John Daly (US),
Paul Devenport (NZ), Peter Fowler (NSW), Steven Conran (NSW)
