Heineken Classic
The Vines, Perth
Australia
29th January - 1st February 1998

Par 72 Prize Money £555,500

First Round Report

First Round Scores

Woosnam leads Olazabal by one-shot

Perth, Australia, 29th January 1998 - Ian Woosnam overcame the notorious south-westerly wind on Thursday in pursuit of his second Heineken Classic victory in three years. Woosnam fired a six-under-par 66 and is one stroke ahead of Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal following the first round at the Vines Resort.

Since winning in 1996, Woosnam's has had bouts of good and bad form and the 1991 Masters champion, who missed the halfway cut in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand last week, is hoping his six-birdie round will kick-start a more consistent period in his career.

The 39-year-old Briton had one moment of great luck when he chipped in from a bunker at the short 13th but otherwise he handled the difficult afternoon with ease.

"When you are playing well you don't notice windy conditions so much," said Woosnam referring to the wind which is a part of the Western Australia weather.

He said he had been worried that a trapped nerve in his left arm might interfere with his swing.

"I probably played as well as I have for some time, particularly with my irons. The arm twinged a little bit and at the end of the day it was really throbbing but did not stop me playing," he said.

"I'd been swinging a heavy club during the winter and that seems to have caused the arm problem, but treatment before and after playing is working and I hope it will clear up eventually.

"It's important that it does heal because I want my swing to free up to enable me to get more consistency and perhaps go for a major again. Last week had a lot to do with the fact that sometimes I suffer with the heat and then my head goes down but I hope this is the start of something good," he added.

Olazabal is making his first visit to Australia and is starting his season earlier than ever before.

The 31-year-old Spaniard had swing problems early in the round but kept his cool and is one off the pace.

"I've been fighting a damaging shot to the left for a couple of weeks and I didn't really hit the ball very well until the 15th," said Olazabal, who finished 16th last week.

"But this course doesn't force you to use your driver all the time, and I only used it six times, so that helped my game.

It's a busier start to the year but these earlier events are still like practice because there are a lot of faults to iron out. I'm just delighted to be out on a course because this time last year I was only living in hope I'd soon be playing tournaments again."

Australia's Robert Allenby finished two behind.

South African Ernie Els, who lost a playoff to Tiger Woods at the Johnnie Walker Classic last week, was a further stroke back.

Els, anxious to rebound from his unexpected collapse over the final two rounds in Thailand, was unhappy with his score.

"The round was nothing special but I was looking for a 68 and I thought I played better than my 70," he said.

Veteran Gary Player had to settle for a 75 and will battle to achieve his wish of making the cut on his return to an event in Australia.