Nick Watney fired an opening-round 8-under 64 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead at the Players Championship. Watney, cousin of everybody’s favorite Boston Red Sox reporter, NESN’s Heidi Watney, started on the back nine at TPC Sawgrass and wiped out an early double-bogey with an eagle on the par-5 second hole.
On a day when Tiger Woods’ withdrawal after nine holes overshadowed play at what the PGA Tour likes to call golf’s “fifth major,” Watney was nearly flawless. Coming off a missed cut at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship, Watney was determined to block out any negativity — especially after starting his round with a double bogey.
“Last week in Charlotte, I got off to a bad start and I never really righted the ship,” Watney told reporters following his round. “So today to have a bad hole like that and still play a good round is a rewarding feeling, just because I didn’t let it affect the rest of my day.”
The winner of the 2011 Cadillac Championship was not the only golfer schooling the Pete Dye-designed track. Woods’ old pal, 54-year-old Mark O’Meara began his first Players Championship since 2003 with a 66.
Sitting alone in second place at 7-under was Lucas Glover, still sporting the beard he wore to victory at Quail Hollow last week. Glover eagled the par-5 ninth hole and carded a birdie on the infamous par-3 17th on his way to a 65.
Glover, who had struggled after winning the 2009 U.S. Open, hinted that, while his hirsute look just sort of happened, he might not shave it any time soon.
“I don’t know how long [the beard will last], to be honest with you,” Glover told reporters Wednesday. “It was just something that cropped up in the offseason out of laziness…and I thought ‘I’ve got to get this mess off my neck because it looks goofy,’ and next thing you know somebody said it looks good, so here it is.’’
The Beard, which has its own Facebook page, has taken on a life of its own. Glover said he had no idea if growing his facial hair had anything to do with his recent run of good play, but he appreciated the crowd’s backing.
“I don’t really care as long as they’re hooting and hollering for something,” he said Thursday. “I hope it was because I was making birdies.”
Martin Kaymer, one of Woods’ first-round playing partners, and Rory Sabbatini lurked just three shots off Watney’s lead. Kaymer said he did not know Woods was hurting.
“Nobody really knows how much pain he was in,” Kaymer said to the media. “He was walking really slowly. He was walking behind us. But I didn’t know that it was because of pain or I just thought that he walks a little slower than me.”
Sabbatini, of course, is a story unto himself. Recent reports suggested that the tour may suspend the fiery South African for his latest outburst, an expletive-laced set-to with Sean O’Hair at last month’s Zurich Classic.
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out on the Waggle Room, Boston Golf Examiner, National Golf Examiner, and GottaGoGolf websites. You may also follow Kay on Twitter @golfexaminer.)
Related posts:
