Patience pays off in 1st round
BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Tiger Woods isn't even playing in the PGA Championship, yet still provided some much-needed inspiration for co-leader Robert Karlsson.
Karlsson made the most of an early tee time to shoot a 2-under 68 and share the lead with Jeev Milkha Singh in Thursday's weather-delayed opening round at long and treacherous Oakland Hills.
Karlsson double-bogeyed the very first hole, certainly no way to start a major championship. So caddie Gareth Lord pointed out the obvious.
"My caddie said, 'We played with Tiger in the U.S. Open and I think he took a 6 on the first hole pretty much every day. You can shoot a good round out here as well,"' Karlsson recalled.
With that motivation, Karlsson birdied the next three holes on the way to one of only six subpar scores in the opening round.
Andres Romero of Argentina was 2 under through 16 holes when play was suspended for the day because of darkness. The round had been stopped for almost an hour and a half by inclement weather late in the afternoon.
There were 18 players still on the course and they resumed their rounds at 8 a.m. The second round started at 7:30.
Singh, the first native of India to get a European Tour card, also showed some resilience after bogeying the first hole.
He did not credit Tiger for his turnaround, however.
"The most important thing to learn (about) a major championship is to stay patient," said Singh, playing in just his second PGA and only his ninth major. "If you hit a bad shot, you've got to take your medicine."
Singh took his medicine and came back with an eagle on the second hole.
A shot back at 1 under were Sergio Garcia, seeking his first major title, along with Ken Duke, Billy Mayfair and Sean O'Hair.
Phil Mickelson, who also recovered from bogeys on his first two holes, got into red numbers before bogeying the last hole for a 70. He was joined there by Anthony Kim, Ryan Moore, Rod Pampling, Charlie Wi, Brian Gay, late addition Michael Allen and Angel Cabrera.
Kenny Perry, chasing his fourth win of the year at the age of 47, had to withdraw after shooting a 79 because of vision problems stemming from a scratched cornea.
