Gossett leads before rain cuts short day

The first day of the Western Open was dominated by the PGA Tour's "young guns" and some locals. David Gossett is a lot of one and little of the other.

Beating a rainstorm that suspended play, Gossett carded a 7-under-par 65 on Thursday in his first competitive round at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club and has a one-shot lead as he seeks his second career PGA Tour title.

Thanks to a rain delay of 3 hours, 20 minutes, only 106 of the 156 players finished. The final group teed off on the first hole at 3:03 p.m. EDT and turned around once they got to the fairway.

Golfers that did not complete their round will resume play Friday at 8 a.m. EDT.

The 1999 U.S. Amateur champion, Gossett took advantage of ideal scoring conditions during his morning round, offsetting two bogeys with nine birdies, including seven in an 11-hole span.

"It was a great start to my first Western Open today," said the 23-year-old Gossett, who wore red, white and blue on Independence Day. "I had an exciting round of nine birdies, two bogeys, and it was en eventful day, for sure."

Among those in contention is 24-year-old Jonathan Byrd, a teammate of Gossett's on the 1999 Walker Cup and a fellow "young gun." He shot a 5-under 67 to tie veteran John Cook for second as the tour's inexperienced players continue to make their mark.

"Well, Gossett has already had his day," Byrd said. "He's already won, but he's been looking to get another one -- I'm sure like all of us are trying to win."

Tour veteran Bob Estes is alone in second following a 66. He enjoyed a bogey-free round despite being one of the last players on the course.

"I putted real well today," Estes said. "I played smart, putted real well and had some good iron shots."

Four others finished off 68s, including 1999 NCAA champion Luke Donald of England, who attended nearby Northwestern, and Pete Jordan, a native of nearby Elmhurst, Illinois.

Kenny Perry and Lee Porter also shot 68 and Joe Durant and Jerry Kelly were at 5-under through 15 when darkness halted play.

While a couple of the tour's best young players and some locals top the leaderboard, Gossett fits into both categories.

Although he was born in Arizona and lives in Tennessee, Gossett claimed his first PGA Tour title -- the John Deere Classic -- last year in Silvis, Illinois, which is three hours from Cog Hill.

But Gossett is best recognized as one of the game's up-and-coming stars. And he's ready to win again, having been paired with tournament champions all season, thanks to his title last year.

Gossett has been around enough winners to know what it takes. At Doral, he was paired with eventual champ Ernie Els the first two days. The same was the case at Bay Hill, where he was in a group with Tiger Woods.

"To be able to be around those guys week in and week out and have that 'best-player-in-the-world' pairings, that's helpful to me," said Gossett, who last month tied for second at the Buick Classic for his only finish better than 29th this season.

Gossett, who was grouped with Justin Leonard and Mike Weir of Canada on Thursday, said he has learned certain mannerisms, poise and shots from the world's elite players. The challenge for him now is to block out the pressure of playing with them.

"I enjoy playing with those guys," he said. "But trying to compete against them, I have to block them out and play my game."

He did that pretty well Thursday. Starting on the back nine, he played his first four holes even before rolling in successive birdie putts of 12, 15 and 20 feet to reach 3-under.

Gossett parred the final two holes on the back side but made birdie on four of the first six on the front, using a pin-point iron game to put himself within 10 feet each time.

After a three-putt bogey at the seventh, Gossett returned to his comfort level, making a short birdie putt at the par-5 ninth. Comfort is the name of the game for him these days.

"All of these guys out here who are doing well and I've played and beaten several times in junior golf and amateur golf, it does add to the comfort," he said. "No question."

Although he hasn't won in 21 PGA Tour starts, Byrd is on the verge of breaking out. He wasted no time Thursday, rolling in birdies on his first two holes en route to his first sub-70 round in seven tries.

Byrd has played well at times this season, tying for third at Greensboro and eighth at the Colonial. But he also has missed 12 cuts in 19 starts, including two in a row before this week.

"I've just played poorly, made too many mistakes, too many bogeys," he said. "And it was nice today. I made two bogeys on the front and didn't make anymore, so really didn't make any more mistakes."

That's the way Byrd needs to play, especially with the competition these days. He's one of those young players trying to get over the hump.

"Yeah, we're pretty hungry," he said. "We're just as tired of watching Tiger win a lot as everyone else is, so we want to get out there and win our first one."

Estes, who won the Kemper Open a month ago, has three wins in the last 13 months. But the 36-year-old Texas was happy just to get his round in.

"It's nice to finish up the round and keep it like it normally is," he said.

Cook has won 11 titles during a career that began in 1980, and he looked like his old self Thursday, totaling six birdies and just one bogey. He has been a runner-up twice in 15 starts this season.

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