Bet on this tournament & other sports here

Wiebe leads after first day 65

Mark Wiebe carded a seven-under 65 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Davis Love III and Phil Mickelson after the first round of the Western Open.

David Toms and Jerry Kelly share fourth at minus-five.

Wiebe stood at three-under par but went on a birdie tear after he made the turn. He birdied 11 and then played a five-iron to five feet at 12 to set up his second birdie in a row. Wiebe holed a seven-footer to make it three in a row and matched Love at the top of the leaderboard.

At 17, Wiebe's drive split the fairway and he played his approach two feet left of the hole to get to seven-under. He could have had a two-shot edge, but his 20-foot birdie try on 18 lipped out of the hole.

"I had it close a lot and I was very fortunate today with my yardages into some of the greens," said Wiebe, who is winless on the PGA Tour since 1986. "It is a great start but there's a long way to go. But I played super golf today."

Tiger Woods did not play super on Thursday as he posted a one-over 73. He got it going toward the end of his round with three birdies in a four-hole span, but trouble was coming.

It was at the closing hole where the world No. 1 blew up when he splashed his second shot into the water. Woods two-putted for a double-bogey six and then snapped his club before leaving the course and refusing requests for interviews.

Love missed the cut last week at the Greater Hartford Open after he returned from a two-month absence due to a neck injury. He birdied five of his first seven Thursday, but Love knew that playing at all was the key to recovery.

"I need to play a lot of golf," said Love."I need some more rounds under my belt to get back to feeling normal."

Mickelson was flawless with six birdies, but ran into trouble at his last hole, the ninth at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club's Dubsdread Course. He hit a driver off the deck that landed left of the green where he played his third into a greenside bunker. Mickelson blasted out to inches of the hole where he tapped in for his par save.

"The goal Thursday is really just to get into contention, not to shoot way up the leaderboard," Mickelson said. "The goal is to have a shot on Sunday. This is a nice start."

Wiebe birdied two of his first five holes Thursday before a two-foot birdie at No. 9.

"I told my wife, when I'm playing well, I know it," said Wiebe, who ranks 126th on the money list. "I just feel like I'm playing really good golf

Brad Faxon, Frank Nobilo, Kenny Perry and Carl Paulson are knotted in sixth place at four-under 68.

Defending champion Robert Allenby will have to make up a lot of ground if he is going to win the event for a second straight year. He shot a two-over 74 and is in a tie for 107th.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page