Perry & Verplank lead in the wind

Kenny Perry wants to play well and have fun on the PGA Tour. He accomplished one of those goals Saturday in the Mercedes Championships, the season-opening tournament that feels more like a tuneup for the Open.

Perry shared the 54-hole lead on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, limiting his mistakes to a three-putt bogey for a 2-under 71 that left him tied for Scott Verplank.

That didn't make it a walk on the beach.

``There was not much fun out there today,'' Perry said. ``It was survival on every golf shot. A lot of pressure. I'll sleep good tonight.''

Verplank, who plays in this wind in Oklahoma, overcame a bogey-bogey start and an incorrect ruling on the 14th hole for a 70, making a 15-foot eagle on the final hole for a 70 that allowed him to join Perry at 206.

``Yeah, you grow up in it (wind), but you usually sit inside,'' Verplank said.

It was so windy that tour officials moved up the tee box on four holes on the back nine. It was so windy that Perry kept his putter off the ground in case his ball moved.

It did for Chris DiMarco, who had a 68 and was one stroke back.

He had an 8-foot par putt on No. 5 that stopped a foot from the hole. DiMarco was getting ready to tap-in when a gust carried his ball 7 feet past the hole and made double bogey.

``Two or three times out there, I had a 1-foot putt, probably took me three or four minutes to hit, not let the wind blow me over,'' he said. ``It was really hard.''

Also at 207 was PGA champion David Toms, who had a 72.

``This is no fun,'' said Mark Calcavecchia, three strokes back after a 71. He holed out from the fourth fairway for eagle and closed with four straight birdies.

``It's about a 20 on the Stimpmeter on some holes,'' he said. ``You get the ball going and you can't stop it. A little wind is not bad, like 25 mph. But not 40. This is brutal.''

Sergio Garcia also had a 68 and was at 210, along with David Duval (72).

``If I would have shot 5 under on Thursday, I would feel like it was 1 or 2 over,'' the 21-year-old Spaniard said. ``Today I shot 5 under and I feel like I shot 9 (under). It's playing quite different.

Tiger Woods got to the 18th hole and saw another set of tees that had been moved some 40 yards farther up.

``Maybe they want us to break 80,'' he deadpanned. He just missed an eagle putt, but the damage already had been done.

Woods suffered another dubious start, flaring his iron out to the right on the first hole and landing under a tree. He wound with a double bogey, then missed the next green by 30 yards to take a bogey.

Just like on Friday, when he started with a triple bogey, he never quite recovered. Woods finished with another 74 and was 10 strokes behind.

It was the first time he has had consecutive rounds over par since the U.S. Open at Southern Hills (74-71), and the first time it has happened in a regular tour event since going 75-75 in the final two rounds of the 1999 Players Championship.

``Not a good start, but I fought back,'' Woods said. ``It was a heck of a fight.''

Woods saw how much worse it could have been after spending four hours with Robert Damron, who hit two consecutive balls into the tall weeds and didn't bother looking for the second one until he was told someone found it.

``Great,'' he said. ``Last thing I want to do is hit that shot again.'' He rallied for an 85.

Steve Stricker avoided an 80 by making birdie on the final hole. Davis Love III had a 41 on the back nine and shot 78.

Even the guys who were playing well had an interesting time in the big Kona wind.

Garcia hit a driver on the opening hole and a 7-iron into the green during his practice round. On Saturday, he had to muscle a 3-wood to reach the green, from 243 yards. Of course, he also hit 8-iron from 205 yards to about a foot from the hole.

Tournament director Ben Nelson said the tees were moved up because ``we've never seen the wind from this direction this strong.''

``We guessed on a couple of holes,'' Nelson said. ``We tried to give them a golf course where the conditions were difficult.''

A pitch-and-putt would have been a brute in this wind.

Verplank managed just fine, despite a bizarre ruling on No. 14. His tee shot went into tall weeds, and he hit a provisional in case it was lost.

It was, but tour officials mistakenly thought he had found his ball and it was unplayable. They asked him to hit a third tee shot, and later admitted they erred. Verplank was not penalized further because he followed the orders.

Either way, he made double bogey.

Perry was rock-solid in the fierce wind, making only one bogey, three birdies and 14 pars. He had a chance to take the outright lead, but his 50-foot eagle putt stopped 6 feet short on the final hole, and the second putt caught the lip.

The forecast was for the typical Trade winds to return for Sunday, which would make the Plantation Course at Kapalua play differently. But perhaps not any easier.

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