Ernie Els
:"That was a pretty good start.On the front nine the breeze was helping and I took advantage of it,made the turn in 33,and just tried to keep it up.I felt the wind drop on the back nine and I had to take advantage again,you don't know how the old lady will play tomorrow.
"My whole mindset is to play well in the big ones this year.When I started playing at St Andrews I never liked it too much but when you get the lines right it is a little more fun.
"If the weather stays like this anything can happen,it just depends on the wind.I was in the final round with John Daly in '95 and there was an incredible 40 mph wind.If Tiger beats me by 15 now there should be an enquiry.
"On the 17th hole,the tee shot is everything.You can make any number there so walking off with a three and the lead is very satisfying.
"I feel that my game is coming round.I have worked on mental attitude even more than my swing."
Tiger Woods:
"I was very pleased with the way I played today.I hit a lot of
good shots,made a lot of good putts,and ended up with a few birdies coming
in.It is a long championship,there are 72 holes.If it was an 18 hole
tournament I would be in trouble.
"Any time you start a major championship with eight straight pars,I don't
care what major it is you will take that start.I just kept playing solid.But
I made some good ups and downs,some good saves early in the round to make
those pars.I hit a couple of loose shots here and there.Overall it wasn't too
bad a start."
"To be honest I just want to go out there and just play.It was neat to go
out there and just play in a major championship again.After what happened at
the US Open you have to put it behind you."
Steve Flesch:
"I had high expectations because I had been playing well on the tour this year.But it is such a different kind of game at St.Andrews. The ground is hard and plays fast.In the States you try to bomb your tee ball and hit your five or six iron as high as you can into the green and hope it stops and then make the putt.Here it is a whole other way of playing, a lot of fun.
"I am not really surprised I played well today. I've had a good start to the year,I had a chance to win in Chicago a couple of weeks ago and played a poor final round.In a way today was a big round for me and getting off to a fast start got my confidence rolling. I feel like I got it under my belt today so hopefully we can continue."
Ian Garbutt:
"I was enjoying it. I was at the top of the leader board,playing
well. I couldn't fault it really .
"I would have taken 68 before I went out. When I was seven under after 12
I might have expected a bit more than four under but coming in on the
back nine the wind is in off the left.It is a lot more difficult than it is
going out.
"I had put a lot of effort in on Sunday and Monday to qualify and ended up
in a five for three spots play off.
"It was nice to look up and see you are on top of the leader board above
such names as Woods and O'Meara,a few of the top names who have won major
championships.
"It has been a funny year for me.Normally I make all the cuts on the
tour.This year I have ended up missing a lot of the cuts but having some
good top ten finishes as well.So I have been a bit inconsistent really or
consistently inconsistent."
Tom Lehman:
"I did a lot of good things out there today with one major error
when I three putted the first but all in all it was a good day.The course is
firm and fast but if you are playing well the course is there for the
taking,I am still not actually playing at my best but I'm happy with my score
today.I am still kind of band aiding it."
Tom Lehman:
"I did a lot of good things out there today with one major error
when I three putted the first but all in all it was a good day.The course is
firm and fast but if you are playing well the course is there for the
taking,I am still not actually playing at my best but I'm happy with my score
today.I am still kind of band aiding it."
Dennis Paulson:
"There's no way it can go this long being this calm.We played
about every single hole into the wind.It stopped on the seventh green,eight
no wind,nine turned around a little bit in our face.And eleven slightly
downwind,than everything else was into a little breeze.
"I think it's good.The greens are so hard you really don't want to play shots
down breeze especially with where some of the pins were on the way in.There
were a lot of tight pins."
Darren Clarke:
"I hit the ball very solid,I had one bogey and that was from a
three putt from twenty feet on number three.I had quite a few other chances
out there which I didn't quite hole as many as I should have done but overall
shooting seventy first round I'm pretty pleased
Notah Begay:
"I guess I just tried to avoid the bunker as much as I could.In
doing do I kept going left and ran out of grass.But I hadn't been driving
well all day and it finally caught up with me on that hole.I caught a really
bad lie.I was just trying to pitch out to about 100 yards and play it as a
par five.I wasn't trying to do anything spectacular.I acknowledge the fact
that the hole has had me by the tail and I just approached it that way and
one thing led to another.Before I knew it I was getting wet and getting out
of the burn and trying to make a three footer for a seven.
"For me this is a first.This is my first underpar round in a major.Granted it
could have been very very good.But it is a learning process as a young player
and I have just got to look at it that way.And even though I made a bad score
the whole processs from the first tee to the last hole was an enjoyable day
for me."
Sergio Garcia:
"It was a long time out there.There was a long wait on the fourth and fifth but then I started to get a little more rhythmn on the way in.
"Unfortunately I dropped a shot on the 13th when I went into the bunker but I made a great five in the end and then made a great chip on the 14th,a great three,and after that I made a very good second shot on the 18th and was able to make a birdie there too.There is a long way to go and I have to just try and keep on playing the way I have been and I will be in with a chance."
