A damp, dreary start
CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Between shots, Tiger Woods looked as though he was on his way to pop a casserole in the oven. When he took off his oversized gloves, he warmed right up to chilly Carnoustie.
Woods got off to a strong start Thursday in his quest for a third straight British Open title, shooting a 3-under 33 before the turn to put himself near the top of the leaderboard on a dreary morning along the North Sea.
Ireland's Paul McGinley birdied four of the first seven holes to claim the early lead, while 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell of New Zealand and South Korea's K.J. Choi, who's won twice on the PGA Tour this year, were in contention.
Choi shot a 2-under 69, even with a pair of bogeys coming down the brutal finishing stretch. Campbell matched Woods with a 33 on the front side and held at 3 under with only the 18th hole to play.
Fredrik Andersson Hed of Sweden was at 3 under while still working through the front side, his score bolstered by an eagle at No. 6.
Woods, seeking his fourth Open championship overall and 13th major title, birdied No. 3 to get into the red, then made an eagle at the par-5 sixth. He waved his putter to the cheering gallery after the ball dipped into the cup on the 578-yard hole known as Hogan's Alley.
Choi, coming off wins at the Memorial and AT&T National, birdied four of the first six holes, his only slip-up on the outgoing stretch coming at the seventh when he missed a sharp-breaking putt from about 3 feet to save par.
McGinley also took advantage of conditions that looked ugly but were primed for going low.
Morning showers softened up the greens. The breeze whipping in off the North Sea wasn't too imposing. And the knee-high rough that made things so tough in 1999 — the last time a British Open was held at "Car-Nasty" — was shaved down this time around.
The only thing to complain about was the temperature, struggling to break 50 degrees in what passes for summer in Scotland.
As he stepped up to the first tee, John Rollins blew into his hand, trying to keep it warm. Then, as he sized up his second shot, he let out a big exhale. Yep, he could see his breath.
Of course, after the searing heat of Royal St. George's in 2003 and the sun-baked fairways of Royal Liverpool a year ago, this was more like a British Open. Butch Harmon watched the early starters tee off from the second-floor window of his hotel room.
"It's the skybox," the coaching guru quipped.
