Former greenskeeper tames Carnoustie to lead

A former greenskeeper managed to tame the wilds of the Carnoustie Golf Links today, while a pair of former champions couldn't even break 80 in the Open.

Australian Rodney Pampling was the unlikely leader in the clubhouse with an even-par 71 on a day when defending champion Mark O'Meara shot 83 and five-time champion Tom Watson could do only one stroke better.

Carnoustie more than lived up to its reputation as a brutal test of golf, with scores soaring on the first day of play amid the wind and knee-deep rough of the seaside links.

"If the average player had to play out there, he'd probably quit the game," David Duval said after shooting 79. "A lot of pros, too.''

Rounds in the 80s abounded, even though the winds were relatively mild early in the day before picking up in the afternoon. Among the victims were O'Meara, Watson and rookie sensation Sergio Garcia, who shot an 18-over 89.

"Your pride is hurt a bit when you shoot in the eighties. I mean, I'm a professional golfer," said O'Meara, whose round was the highest by a defending champion in 123 years.

Pampling, a 30-year-old who won his first tournament in Australia earlier this year after beginning his golf career as a greenskeeper, took advantage of playing in the second group out in light winds to post his score.

About a third of the field was still out on the course, but no one was under par and Pampling's lead appeared safe. Davis Love III was 2-over on the back nine, as was Tiger Woods.

"The course is vicious," U.S. Open winner Payne Stewart said after shooting 79.

Par was a score to covet on a brutally tough course that left even those who played well exhausted after 18 holes. With half the field finished the average first day score was 78.2

"It takes a lot out of you," said Bernhard Langer, who played with Pampling and shot a 72. "I'm just glad to get the first round over."

Ernie Els took only 26 putts but shot a 74. Then he proclaimed himself happy with it.

"I'd take four 74s and sit in the clubhouse right now," Els said.

Scotland's Sam Torrance, who played in the last 27 Opens, may have known best when he withdrew just before teeing off, saying his game was not good enough for the course.

Only one player managed to get as far as 3-under, Sweden's Patrik Sjoland, and he promptly went on to double bogey the next hole. By the time he finished nine holes, he was 1-over for the day.

Winds were light early and the course was bathed in sunshine in the morning, giving players their best chance to take advantage of a course some have called the toughest they have ever played.

That didn't help the 19-year-old Garcia, who knocked his ball into the greenside rough on the first hole and opened with a triple bogey. Garcia, who shot two 62s since turning pro in April, had five double bogeys and barely broke 90.

He wasn't alone, though, as players had to hack it out of rough that sometimes reached their knees if they couldn't keep the ball on the tiny slivers of fairways stretched between the deep grass.

Players left balls in bunkers, hit them backwards just to get out of the sand and played a variety of unusual shots to try and get around the course. Steve Stricker hit a back-handed sand wedge, while Padraig Harrington played a shot off his knees out of some greenside bushes.

The conditions got even tougher for the late starters, including Woods, as winds whipped up in the afternoon on the 7,361-yard test.

Five-time Open winner Tom Watson, who won here 24 years ago, shot an 82, the same score as Billy Mayfair. Steve Stricker shot 80, and Steve Elkington had a 79. Journeyman pro Tom Gillis had the highest score, a 90.

Just how quickly trouble could crop up was illustrated by Japan's Joe Ozaki, who had a smile on his face and a share of the lead at 1-under as he stood with a short iron in hand for his second shot on the par-5 14th.

He wasn't smiling a short time later after knocking it into a deep pot bunker, leaving it there on his next shot and then having to play his fourth shot out backwards. He ended up shooting a 74.

David Duval opened shakily, hitting both his drive and second shot into the rough before getting up-and-down for par on the first hole. He was 4-over through 12 holes, while Woods was 1-over after four.

The scores lived up to the expectations of players, who in practice rounds came trudging off the 18th green moaning about the tight fairways and deep rough that swallowed ball after ball.

Days of battling winds, rain and chill spurred talk of scores in the 90s, and players worried privately about being embarrassed by a links course set up longer and narrower than any before.

Through it all, though, they agreed on one thing: Someone will stand holding the Claret Jug on Sunday, no matter how ugly this championship gets.

"Regardless of whether an individual player likes or dislikes the golf course, they haven't stopped giving out a trophy come Sunday," Duval said. "Whether you think it is fair, unfair, too hard, too easy, somebody is going to take home the Claret Jug."

AP