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Waite a most unlikely leader at PGA
DULUTH, Ga. (AP) -- The record book is filled with obscure guys who led after the first round of a major tournament. On Thursday, Grant Waite joined the list. The New Zealand golfer, who had missed six straight cuts coming in and never played well in the majors, shot a 6-under 64 to lead the PGA Championship. No one was more surprised than Waite. "I want to look back and say I had a good time with it," he said. "Hopefully, I will continue to play well. If I don't, I don't." Until now, Waite was best known as the victim of one of Woods' most spectacular shots. Now, it's Woods who finds himself trailing the 36-year-old Kiwi by nine strokes. Waite knows he will have a hard time duplicating his six-birdie, bogey-free round at Atlanta Athletic Club -- especially with the burden of being the tournament leader. "That adds another dimension to it," he said. "All of a sudden, you're at the center of attention. Well, not really. Tiger is still the center of attention, but I'm somewhat the center of attention." Woods isn't on the radar screen, tied for 100th and needing a strong round Friday just to make the cut. But nine players, including David Duval and Phil Mickelson, were just two shots off the lead. "This will be good for me," Waite said. "This is something I have to overcome to get in the same mindset I was in today." His mindset was simple: no expectations. That should have been easy. Waite had played in four other PGA Championships -- and missed the cut each time. He arrived for this year's event having failed to make the weekend in six straight tournaments since the Memorial. He finished third in the Bay Hill Invitational, but that was his only top-10 finish in 20 events. "I was trying so hard to play well," Waite said. "I expected so much from myself. After the Memorial, he was stricken with an energy-sapping illness that doctors now believe was mononucleosis. As he struggled with his stroke, he decided to quit putting so much pressure on himself. "When you're all bundled up and tight inside, it's no fun - even when you're playing well," Waite said. "I would miss the cut, go home and work on my game. I felt better. I knew I was getting close, even though the scores wouldn't tell you that." Before Thursday, the biggest moment of Waite's career was a runner-up finish in last year's Canadian Open. Woods sealed a one-stroke victory with a 6-iron from 218 yards -- out of a bunker, over the water, right at the flag. When Waite got to the first tee Thursday, he was introduced as being from Australia instead of New Zealand. "I really couldn't imagine anything worse to call me," he quipped. "That's the bottom of the barrel." Shaking off the case of mistaken identity, Waite birdied the first two holes, rolling in a 35-foot putt at No. 2. "All of a sudden, I had a lot of good momentum, a good feeling about myself," he said. Waite made two more birdies before the turn but still faced the toughest holes on the 7,213-yard course. He never flinched. Waite birdied the par-5 12th after reaching the green in two, then conquered the monstrous 18th, the longest par-4 in PGA Championship history. A lake-hugging tee shot left him 179 yards to the hole, and he stuck it on the green with a 7-iron. "Anytime you can have a 7-iron in your hand on that hole, it's a major bonus," said Waite, who then sank an 18-foot putt for birdie. "That was a nice way to finish." There's still a long way to go, of course. Waite has played in 10 majors previously, making it to the weekend only twice. His best finish is a tie for 36th at the 1997 U.S. Open. "I look at this as more of an adventure," Waite said. "Whatever happens, happens. I can influence what happens, but I'm not in control of it."
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