Castle Rock – Carrying its reputation for hospitality to unprecedented extremes – there was never even a suggestion of rain – The International tried its best to make everyone feel at home for Thursday’s opening round. Already pampered throughout the week, the field was finally let loose to cavort in a Tiger-free zone, on a Castle Pines Golf Club course that offered up, in Stuart Appleby’s words, plenty of “free yardage.”
Sufficiently at peace, players were able to perform without nasty thoughts like “bogey” creeping into their heads.
Mathias Gronberg, for example, entered with just one top-10 finish in 20 events this season, an occasion he celebrated by missing the cut the following three weeks. However, on Thursday the Swede crafted the day’s best round, registering eight birdies en route to a plus-13, 2 points better than a quartet of players – Appleby, Stewart Cink, John Senden and 2001 International champ Tom Pernice Jr.
A quick glance at the leaderboard displayed the day’s only quibble: Of the top 27 players, only seven played their opening round in the afternoon, with Senden’s 11 points topping the list.
“The greens are always better in the morning. Later in the day they get a little bumpier and they’re not as smooth,” said Corey Pavin, who nonetheless managed 7 points in the afternoon. “That’s why everyone has one morning time and one afternoon time.”
Among the players perhaps most affected by the late start were two-time champions Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III. While paired together under the broiling sun, neither player could generate much heat. Making the turn at +1, Love suffered double bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11, and finished at -4.
Mickelson’s first swing of the day was a wild slice into the left rough; his next resulted in a lost ball, which ultimately led to a double-bogey 7. On the tee box at the 403-yard, par-4 second, a hole that is normally no more than a 3-wood for most players, Mickelson chose driver, a decision that brought a shake of the head from caddie Jim MacKay.
Mickelson smoked the shot, leaving him just an easy flip to the green, that effort settling about 3 feet from the hole, but the left-hander missed the putt, typical of a +1 day in which 32 of his 73 strokes came with the flatstick.
“I played really well. I know the points don’t show it because I putted just horrendously,” Mickelson said. “There’s not much more I can do as far as aggressiveness. I just have to get the putter going.”
By contrast, Gronberg needed just 26 putts on the day with only 11 on his final nine holes. While Mickelson struggled with virtual gimmes, Gronberg was dumping them in from all over.
“It’s strange how you can stand over 3-footers and you’re not even hitting the hole, and you can step up on the 20-footer and you think, ‘I’m going to make this putt,”‘ he said.
Perhaps that’s just The International once again being accommodating. Before the tournament began, defending champion Retief Goosen said Castle Pines reminded him of his native South Africa; on Thursday, Gronberg said it harkened memories of the course in Switzerland where he achieved his first professional win.
“I just like being up in high altitudes, it seems,” he said.
Feeling sufficiently warm and fuzzy following his round, the 36-year-old told stories of how he began playing the game, finding a set of his mother’s clubs in the basement of his home as a toddler.
Soccer became his passion however, with golf not re-entering the picture until he was 15.
“I told myself that I was going to try and become a golf pro,” Gronberg said. “But I was fortunate that I had talent from the beginning. If I wouldn’t have hit the ball good the first 50 balls I hit, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now.”
Staff writer Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
Eye on …
Stumbling start
The defending champion is making just his fifth visit to Castle Pines since 1995. He scored 32 points a year ago, edging out Brandt Jobe by one point.
What’s up: Goosen described his Thursday round as “very up-and-down, very bad golf” before disappearing quickly into the clubhouse. His scorecard was an accurate reflection of his comments. He had seven bogeys and five birdies to finish with 3 points.
Bottom line: Goosen has a lot of work to do to make the cut, then rise up the leaderboard if he wants to become the first back-to-back winner of The International. Goosen said he has to hit more fairways to give himself a fighting chance to score better.
Tway’s way works
Bob Tway has skipped The International just twice since 1986. He is one of the more consistent players in this event but has yet to win. His best finish was in 1996, when he tied for fourth. In 1998, Tway scored his best point total with 36, finishing fifth.
What’s up: Tway was his normal steady self on Thursday. He offset bogeys on Nos. 1 and 10 with five birdies to finish with 8 points – in the pack and in good shape to make the cut and make a move on Saturday.
Bottom line: Tway is loose and having fun, which is why he seldom gets in trouble on this course. If history is any indication, he will stick around and make things interesting. For the past two years, Sunday has been his nemesis. Tway scored minus-1 in the final round last year and minus.3 in 2004.
Different from practice
Pueblo West’s Dustin White earned his berth in The International by winning the Colorado Open last month.
What’s up: White did not play as well as he hoped after a week of practicing at Castle Pines. He got off to a good start at No. 10 with three pars and a birdie on No. 13 before things soured with a bogey on 14. He finished the day at minus-2.
Bottom line: White is living the PGA dream, even if it might not last past today. In his own words, he has to do everything better in order to make the cut. He hit just 11 greens and two-putted every green after he made the turn. “You play six or seven practice rounds around here, come out and do something like this, it hurts,” he said.
Daily diary
Throughout The International, Denver Post staff writer Anthony Cotton will speak with some of the participants to get their take on life on the PGA Tour. Thursday, third-year pro and Ryder Cup hopeful Lucas Glover talked about playing alongside the big boys.
I played with Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III, and it was great. I’ve been lucky to know Davis for a few years now and we play a good bit together. This was my first round with Phil, but we’ve known each other. It was great to see what two of the greatest players of the modern day do well and see what they do better than me, so I know what to improve on. It’s been pretty cool. I had Tiger Woods on Sunday (at the Buick Open) and Phil (on) Thursday and Friday. I get to see all that in action.
After we teed off on the first hole Thursday, Davis and Phil started talking and I was walking by myself. They’re long-time buddies, and I still get nervous on the first tee. I had some thoughts that were running through my head and I wanted to get them out of the way. I hit three good shots and had a tap-in birdie. After that I was ready to talk.
Playing with Tiger was different, a different deal – playing in a big tournament, with Tiger in the last group. I knew going in it was going to be a different deal. But it was the same as with Phil. Tiger couldn’t have been nicer. He complimented good shots, and if I got down he was egging me along. You can’t control the fans and how they move around, but you expect it. After that, I feel like I can play through anything.
Last Sunday, going in against Tiger, not knowing him, never playing with him, never experiencing that, I got behind the 8-ball early. But it would be nice to sit in the (Ryder Cup) team room with him and get to know him, or Phil, because they can help me. They’re better than me. That’s the bottom line.
Question of the day
Is The International’s change of dates from the first week in August to the first week in July a good move or a bad move, and will you continue to play in the tournament?
“The only person it really matters to is (Jack) Vickers. If he’s happy, then everybody’s happy. But, oh yeah, I’ll be back. I love it here. I think it’s a great tournament. They always treat us so well, and I like the format. It’s just a fun tournament to play in every year.” – Tom Lehman, 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup captain
“I will play in this tournament every year they have it for as long as they will let me play in this tournament. If they played it in the snow in December, I’d play in this tournament. I think everybody knows I love this golf course and I love this tournament. And I think everybody knows why I love this tournament. We have a place in Idaho, so we always try to work it into a combo deal.” – Rich Beem, 2002 International champion
“I don’t know if it’s good or bad. … With the facilities and the way Jack Vickers hosts us here, it’s one of the best tournaments of the year, and he deserves to get the best field he can possibly get. I’ve played here longer than anybody else, so sure I’m going to keep playing here, every chance I get.” – Andrew Magee, has played in 20 of the 21 tournaments
“For me, it’s going to be a little bit harder to get here, to be honest, because now it’s the week before the PGA, and that helps me and the other European players, I think. I don’t know so much about the U.S. players. Maybe more will come if the date is earlier. But time will tell. We’ll see. Most likely, I will make the effort to be here because I like the place. I like the way the tournament is organized. I like the way they treat us. It’s fantastic. So I’ll probably make the effort, but right now, it’s hard to tell.” – Jose Maria Olazabal, 1992 International champion
By the numbers
Shake it up
1 – Famous Castle Pines milkshakes that round-one leader Mathias Gronberg said he has drunk “so far” this week.
2 – Players with the name Bubba in the field, Bubba Dickerson and Bubba Watson, both from Florida.
13 – Double bogeys Thursday on the dreaded 10th hole.
68 – Feet Stuart Appleby was away from the pin on the 14th hole when he holed his bunker shot.
418 – Yards that Bill Haas drove the ball off the tee on the par-5 14th hole.
HOLE OF THE DAY
No. 15, Par 4, 403 yards
The shortest par 4 on the back nine, one would think No. 15 would yield numerous birdies. Instead it was the toughest hole of the day. The field averaged nearly 4.4 strokes. There were only 14 birdies Thursday. By contrast, there were 41 bogeys and 13 double bogeys. Of the top five players on the leaderboard, Mathias Gronberg and Stuart Appleby birdied the hole. Tom Pernice Jr. was the only member of the quintet to bogey No. 15.
Teeing it up with …
Each day of The International, Denver Post staff writer Anthony Cotton will chat with some of the participants. Today.s conversation is with Corey Pavin, who ended a 10-year drought two weeks ago with a win in the U.S. Bank Classic. Pavin was +7 following the opening round of play.
Were you ever worried that you wouldn’t win again?
Worried? I think that’s kind of a strange word, worried. I think there were certainly doubts; I tried to keep them down, but I always believed deep in my heart that I could win again, if I could just play my game. There’s always some doubts about where your game’s going, but deep, deep down I thought I could win.
Who was the most surprising, unexpected person you heard from after winning?
There’s a couple, but probably President Clinton. He called me to offer congratulations. That was really nice of him.
How has your life changed in the past couple of weeks?
The only thing that has changed is that I’m in the PGA Championship and the Bridgestone Invitational, and I have an outside chance to make the Ryder Cup team. Things have changed in golf. My life won’t change; I don’t change that way. Hopefully.
At the start of the year, there was a lot of talk about (United States Ryder Cup captain) Tom Lehman playing his way onto the team; you’re an assistant captain. Are you thinking about it now?
Tom’s only one spot behind me. If he wins this week or next he could hop onto the team as well. It’s within grasp now, that’s all. Before I won I hardly had any points, now I’ve got an outside chance. I’d love to make the team more than anything, but I know I have to play very well these next two weeks.
If you go …
SCHEDULE
Today: Second round, tee times begin at 7 a.m. at the first and 10th tees.
Saturday: Third round, tee times begin at approximately 7:45 a.m. at the first and 10th tees.
Sunday: Final round, top 36 players and ties. Tee times begin at approximately 9 a.m.
TICKETS
Today-Sunday: $48 daily.
Call 800-755-1986; tickets also can be purchased at King Soopers or via TicketsWest at 866-464-2626. Also available at several Front Range golf courses.
