Associated Press
Friday, November 10

SOTOGRANDE, Spain -- Nick Price fired fearlessly at every flag and counted up 11 birdies at the end of the day. Those were two good signs he was living out some happy memories Thursday in the American Express Championship.

	Tiger Woods blamed his putter Thursday when he made four bogeys.

Two other signs: He had no idea Tiger Woods was eight strokes behind after the first round, nor did he care.

"When I played my best golf, that's what I did very well," Price said after his round of 9-under 63 at surprisingly serene Valderrama Golf Club. "I didn't worry about what anyone else was doing. I just tried to do my very best on each hole, on each shot."

With only five pars on his card, Price built a three-stroke lead over Padraig Harrington in the final $5 million World Golf Championships event of the year.

Price and Harrington played in the same twosome and accounted for an amazing round -- 18 birdies, a best-ball score of 58.

"We just got into a nice roll," Harrington said. "It was like two-ball, lovely to play."

Woods did not look back on his first-round 71 with much affection.

Trying to become the first player in 50 years to win 10 times in one PGA Tour season, Woods made birdie on three of his first four holes and appeared to be rolling along until the par-3 sixth not only halted momentum but offered an omen for the rest of the round.

He three-putted from about 6 feet for bogey.

Woods also had a short birdie putt on No. 12 that looped around the hole and came 4 feet back, leading to another three-putt bogey. It's easy to understand what was going through his mind as he stood over a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

"I hate to think negative, but as I hit the putt, I said, 'Well, I'm just waiting for this one to lip out,' " he said.

Shaky starts for stars

The players for whom the $1 million first-place check means something weren't optimistic after the opening round of the American Express Championship. While Tiger Woods clinched the PGA Tour money title nearly three months ago, the European Tour's Order of Merit hangs in the balance this week. It was hard to tell by their scores. Darren Clarke, who has a slim lead over Lee Westwood, made only one birdie in his round of 74. Westwood hit a 2-iron into the drink on the par-5 17th for a bogey in his round of 72. "I'm not completely out of it," Westwood said. "I think I'll go back to the hotel and forget about it because it was an absolute pile of rubbish." Colin Montgomerie, who must win this week for any chance of an eighth consecutive Order of Merit, took four putts from 20 feet on the 17th for a double-bogey. With only one birdie on the card, he was at 75. Is it over? "Never," the Scotsman said. "You know me too well for that."

Gravity was finally on his side.

Woods made birdie and stretched his worldwide streak to 48 rounds at par or better, and was not the least bit discouraged about his chances.

"You can still win if you're over par," he said. "If you get the right wind out here, you can shoot 4- or 5-under and make up a lot of ground."

Ernie Els, who tied for third in the Tour Championship, aggravated an old back injury lifting luggage Sunday night and couldn't get through nine holes before he had to withdraw.

"I had to try," Els said.

Twelve Americans who qualified for the $5 million bonanza didn't even bother to make the trip. The Stars & Stripes were well-represented, anyway.

Scott Hoch birdied the first four holes on the back nine, before his tee shot lodged in a cork tree on the 14th. He declared it unplayable, shook it out of the tree and made his bogey. He made that up with a 6-iron into 3 feet for birdie on the 18th and was at 67, tied with Andrew Coltart.

Franklin Langham and Chris Perry were among those at 68.

The last player who even came close to Woods' dominance of golf was Price, who won 11 times from 1992-94, including three majors.

He has won only twice since then. His irons haven't been as crisp, his putting not nearly as pure. But there was something special about Thursday. Six of his 11 birdie putts were of medium length, and he always was in a good spot on the greens to attack.

"I seemed to hit a lot of shots pin-high," he said. "When I'm swinging well with my irons, that's what I do well."

He also said his putting has turned the corner, having solved a tendency to take the club back too quickly.

"On these greens, you've got to have a heartbeat like a crocodile lying in the sun," he said.

Price has been around long enough to know there is much golf to be played, especially on a quirky course like Valderrama that can penalize even the good shots because of the cork trees that line the zigzagged fairways.

Not a big fan of Valderrama, Price took the diplomatic route when asked about the course.

"It's the best of its kind," he said.

For one day, so was he.