| Rye,
N.Y.11th June 1998 -
Kevin Sutherland shot an opening-round 64 today to finish two strokes in
front of a Buick Classic field which lost two-time defending champion Ernie Els
to a bad back. A
back spasm which Els said hit him Wednesday night forced his withdrawal as he
played his ninth hole of today's round. The South African called his status for
next week's U.S. Open, in which he is also defending champion, a "day-to-day
thing." Even
if Els was healthy, he would have been hard-pressed to match shots with Sutherland,
especially during a sensational back nine on the Westchester Country Club course
when Sutherland shot a 6-under 29. Sutherland chipped in twice from off the green
for a birdie on No. 12 and an eagle at No. 18, and made birdie putts on Nos. 10,
15 and 17. Sutherland
tied the record for the lowest nine-hole score at Westchester shared by Willie
Wood (1990) and Kirk Triplett (1982). Sutherland's
7-under score led Steve Lowery, Paul Goydos, Bob Tway and J.P. Hayes by two shots.
Tom Lehman and Mark Calcavecchia were a stroke further back with 67s and Jeff
Maggert, runnerup to Els last year, was among those at 68. Lee Westwood, coming
off back-to-back victories on the European Tour, was also
at 68. Almost
all the low scorers played in the morning. A swirling, chilly wind pushed the
scores of most afternoon starters above par. An
exception was Goydos, whose round was highlighted by a eagle-2 on the par-4, 326-yard
seventh hole. His wedge shot from 108 yards nicked the flag, landed about five
feet past the pin and spun back into the hole. Sutherland
credited his strong round to a simple adjustment -- stepping back from the ball
a bit and flattening the arc of his swing. "I
needed to swing more around myself, to move away from the ball," he said.
"I was really getting upright." Sutherland
said he also likes playing on older courses like the par-71, 6,722-yard Westchester
Country Club layout. "I'm
not a huge fan of the modern courses where they kind of take a bulldozer in and
build something," he said. "I don't mind blind tee shots. I like the
way this golf course kind of flows through the trees. The greens are very subtle
and they're tough to putt." Lowery
said a mental, not a physical, adjustment led to a six-birdie, one-bogey round.
Recent deaths in the family and the birth of his son in January created distractions
that harmed his concentration and sense of purpose, according to Lowery. "I've
been kind of lackadaisical," he said. "I've been going through the motions.
... I don't know why complacency comes." Today,
Lowery said he felt some of his old aggressiveness. "I
took it to the golf course instead of letting the golf course take it to me,"
he said. Els'
injury wasn't far from the minds of the leaders, especially considering he was
the wire-to-wire winner in the last two Buick Classics. Most said they weren't
conceding anything to Els, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, before he withdrew
from the tournament today. "This
wasn't the Ernie Els benefit by any means," Lehman said. But
eliminating a player of Els's stature from the picture does simplify things, Lehman
said. "With
him out of the field, that's one great player with a great track record that you
don't have to worry about," Lehman said. "I don't mean to sound callous.
But any time you have a guy who's had as much success on this course and he's
not playing, your chances improve." | 
