IT’S TOUGH ALL OVER
Low scores rare so far at Valspar Championship
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Tiger Woods discovered how tough Innisbrook Golf Resort can be in a swirling wind, and he was up to the task.
Woods smacked his hands into an oak as he let loose of the club during a bold escape from the trees on the way to the 16th hole, came within inches of an ace on the next hole, and most importantly was among 27 players — just less than 20 percent of the field — to break par Thursday as the Valspar Championship got underway.
Canadian rookie Corey Conners, who made the field as an alternate not long after he failed to get through Monday qualifying, didn’t make a bogey until his final hole at No. 9 and shot a 4-under 67. That gave him a one-shot lead over Whee Kim, Kelly Kraft and Nick Watney.
Only three other players — Keegan Bradley, Russell Knox and 2016 PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker — broke 70 on the Copperhead Course. Former Baylor School and Vanderbilt University standout Luke List, in his first tournament since losing a sudden-victory playoff to Justin Thomas at the Honda Classic, was one of 20 players tied for eighth at 70.
That group included Woods, who made five birdies to counter his mistakes as he broke par in the opening round of a PGA Tour event for the first time since his 64 in the Wyndham Championship in August 2015 — which was just six tour events ago for him because of back surgeries.
This is his first time playing the Valspar Championship, and it got his attention.
“I enjoy when par is a good score. It’s a reward,” Woods said. “There are some tournaments when (after) about four holes you don’t make a birdie, you feel like you’re behind. Today, made a couple of birdies, all of a sudden puts me fourth, fifth, right away. That’s how hard it is.”
It was like that for everybody. Jordan Spieth, who won the 2015 tournament in a playoff, didn’t make a birdie after the par-5 opening hole and shot a 76. Only six other players had a higher score. Rory McIlroy, another first-timer at this tournament, played in the morning and shot a 74. Henrik Stenson, who played with Spieth and Woods, also shot a 74.
Morning or afternoon, it didn’t matter. There was a chill in the Florida air, and the wind made it feel colder. Ultimately, the wind swirling through the tree-lined fairways made it tough to get the ball close. Innisbrook produced the highest average score for the opening round — 72.86 — of the 23 courses used on tour this season.
Conners managed just fine, taking advantage of a tournament he wasn’t sure he would be playing. He went through Monday qualifying and shot a 71, but moments after walking off the course, he was told he got in as an alternate.
“Kind of had a mindset of trying to take advantage of a good break, I guess,” he said.
Chattanooga’s Stephan Jaeger (71) was tied for 28th, with fellow Baylor alum Harris English (75) part of a big group sharing 102nd.
Grillo leads Indian Open
NEW DELHI — Pablo Larrazabal awoke with a start Thursday morning, just 38 minutes before his tee time in the first round of the Indian Open.
He had a “10-second shower” and a wild car ride through the streets of Delhi before hitting just 10 balls on the range and dashing to his first hole, the 10th.
The disrupted preparation didn’t seem to affect him. With adrenaline pumping through his body, the Spanish golfer made nine birdies along with two bogeys and a double to shoot a 5-under 67. He was tied for second with Matteo Manassero and Paul Peterson, two shots behind leader Emiliano Grillo.
Larrazabal said his phone reverted to his home country’s time overnight, meaning his alarm didn’t go off, and it took a wake-up call by a European Tour official to rouse him.
“Waking up this morning, I didn’t think I was going to make it,” Larrazabal said. “Delhi’s traffic is quite tough. I got lucky that we didn’t have traffic.”
Grillo started and finished his round with birdies and had six more in between on the tough layout at DLF Golf and Country Club. The first round was suspended because of bad light, with 24 players still to finish. Two were at 5 under — Adrien Saddier (through 17 holes) and Keith Horne (through 16).
Two days after receiving a special invitation to play in the Masters, Shubhankar Sharma had wildly contrasting nines but recovered for a 1-over 73 on his home course. The only twotime winner on the European Tour this year, Sharma held the 54-hole lead in his first World Golf Championship appearance last week at the Mexico Championship before tying for ninth.
New Euro Tour event
VIRGINIA WATER, England — Saudi Arabia will host a European Tour event for the first time next year.
The tournament will be played from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3 as part of the Desert Swing that already includes dates in Abu Dhabi and Dubai during the early season. It will be held at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, along the Red Sea coastline.