Posted 4/14/03 9:57 am ET

Love-ly effort

Farewell to the King, and to low scores at Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- Augusta National wasn't the clear-cut winner everyone expected at the Masters, but it was enough of a brute to make Arnold Palmer call it quits after 48 years.

It was plenty tough for Tiger Woods, too.

On what might be the players' easiest day all week on the longer, more difficult course, Davis Love III shot a mistake-free 5-under 67 to take the lead Thursday after one round.

Video Select a link to launch a video clip Augusta's changes drew varied reactions from some Masters veterans. Davis Love III relaxed and enjoyed playing his way onto the top of the leaderboard. Ernie Els puts a positive spin on the changes at Augusta. Visit Video Plus 2002 Masters Tournament Complete Leaderboard Tee Times: 1st Rnd | 2nd Rnd Course Stats: All | 1 Tournament Records Historical Statistics Past Champions Augusta National Golf Club CNN.com Weather: Augusta, Ga.

Love, who hasn't finished higher than 16th all year, had his best opening-round ever in the tournament, although it wasn't the kind of scoring that typically accompanies such friendly conditions.

"The soft greens definitely helped," Love said.

It allowed players to go after some flags, although most of them still tiptoed around a course where nine of the holes have been lengthened, bunkers were stretched, tees were shifted to sharpen the doglegs and trees were planted to catch errant drives.

Sergio Garcia birdied three straight holes to tie Love for the lead, but missed a 3-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a 68 and was tied with Angel Cabrera of Argentina.

Phil Mickelson didn't take long to stir up some excitement. He missed two putts from 3 feet, but also pitched in from 160 feet on the 11th hole for an unlikely birdie. He finished at 69, an excellent start in his quest to finally win a major.

Also at 69 was U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, who had seven birdies to offset a double-bogey when he hit into Rae's Creek on the par-3 12th.

No one knows about wasted shots like Padraig Harrington of Ireland. He birdied six of the first 12 holes and had 184 yards for his second shot on the par-5 13th when he pulled his shot into a creek. That was the start of three bogeys, and he wound up at 69.

Woods, the defending champion, hit into the Georgia pines twice and into the gallery once but still scratched out a 2-under 70 and was only three strokes back.

Still, the focus shifted from the new Augusta to a 72-year-old man who first brought golf to life with his swashbuckling style.

The King is saying goodbye.

"I just think it's time," Palmer said after an 89, matching his worst score in the Masters. "My golf has been pretty lousy of late, and it doesn't warrant being here playing."

Friday will be his 147th and final round in the Masters, and it figures to be more emotional than his farewell from the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1994 and from the British Open at St. Andrews in 1995.

Augusta National is where "Arnie's Army" was created, and where television first captured Palmer's hard-charging style and made the game appealing to the masses.

"I'm not any different than most people," Palmer said. "I like to think there's always a couple more good rounds in my body, and maybe there are. But I haven't shown up here."

Palmer finished with a par on the 465-yard 18th, but even that was a sign that his game was no match for this golf course -- a driver off the tee, a 3-wood some 40 yards short of the green and a pitch to 8 feet.

Augusta National was a different test for players young and old. Even the oldest, 89-year-old Sam Snead, had some adventures. His ceremonial first tee shot sailed right into the gallery and hit a fan in the face, breaking his glasses and cutting his nose.

As for Woods, he has never shot better than 70 in the first round of the Masters. Only this time he was pleased after escaping from a forest of pines to make par on the final hole.

"The way the golf course is playing, 70 is a lot better score than it would have been last year," Woods said. "Even par or better today is going to be a good round."

Woods, trying to become only the third player to repeat as Masters champion, looked as if he might be in great shape when he birdied three straight holes early on and was leading the tournament.

He gave them all back -- hitting over the green on Nos. 6 and 10 and hitting his tee shot into the trees on No. 14, one of the nine holes lengthened at Augusta.

Two birdies on the final four holes put him at the same first-round score as when he won his two green jackets, in 1997 and last year.

"I just wanted to shoot even par or better," Woods said. "It's not one of those golf courses where you can just turn it on. You've got to keep plugging."

The conditions could not have been more ideal for low scoring - heavy, hanging clouds that kept the sun from drying out the course, only an occasional breeze and soft greens that helped some of the longer irons needed because of the extra length.

"This is the most benign day you can have, and look at the scores," Greg Norman said after a 71.

They made Augusta National as tough as ever by setting back the tees as far as possible, using all of those 285 extra yards.

"They gave you enough room to take a practice swing without hitting the patrons," said David Duval, a Masters contender the past four years who got off to a sluggish start with a 3-over 75.

Duval hit two bunkers in taking bogey on the par-5 second hole; blasted out of a bunker, over the fourth green and into the gallery for double-bogey; then took two shots to get out of the bunker on No. 18 and had to made a 25-footer for bogey.

"It was a new ballgame today," Duval said. "Nobody knew what a good score would be until we got out there and started to play."

No one could have guessed Love would be the leader.

Typically a fast starter on the PGA Tour, he missed the cut in the last two tournaments he played, including last week in Atlanta when he had a 42 on the front nine and a 30 on the back nine.

"All I had to do was eliminate the silly mistakes," Love said. "I'm not shocked the way I played today. I'm shocked the way I played the last two weeks."

 

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