|
Mark Hensby close to Woods with 67
Australian debutant Mark Hensby fired a five-under-par 67 to take a surprise second place after the first round of the British Open on Thursday.
The 34-year-old from Melbourne, who was once reduced to sleeping in his car at a golf club to save money, collected four birdies and an eagle when he drove the 352-yard par ninth and then holed a 20 foot putt.
His round left the 200-1 outsider only one shot behind leader and strong favourite, U.S. Masters champion Tiger Woods.
Hensby says he has no expectations of following Ben Curtis and Todd Hamilton, the previous two Open champions, as a shock winner on Sunday evening.
"No-one expects me to win any tournament. I don't do anything spectacular. I'm a decent all-round player but I don't hit it 330 yards like most of the great players of today and it's a case of me just getting it round the golf course," he told a news conference.
"The bottom line is that if Tiger's on, or Vijay (Singh), or the big hitters are on you just don't have a chance.
"Tiger and I are kind of friends so I'm not intimidated by him, that's for sure. But Tiger is the best player in the world.
"I mean he's not even close to me. When Tiger is on, he's impossible to beat. We all know that and I don't care. People are scared to say it but it's true.
"If Tiger is playing well, everybody knows we're playing for second."
Hensby struggled for 10 years to make his mark in the United States and for a while stayed with friends in Chicago to save cash.
"When I first came to America, I was struggling. I lived with some people that lived in Chicago but when they moved back to Australia I had nowhere to stay so I slept in my car a little while at a golf course called Cog Hill.
"I stayed there on and off for six weeks and slept in the clubhouse when I could," he said.
After clinching his card for the PGA Tour in 2004, he established himself as a fast-rising name in the States and so far this year has made $1.13 million with tied fifth at the U.S. Masters and tied third in the U.S. Open.
Hensby qualified for last year's championship by winning the John Deere Classic but decided against making the trip to Troon because he did not have time to prepare, so this is his first experience of links golf.
"Everybody says it (links golf) is so different but it's really not. You try and hit a ball at a spot and you go from there."
Email
this page to a friend | Return
to top of page | 
