Hearn looks to score big win with assist from Gretzky

Hearn looks to score big win with assist from Gretzky

Steve Keating August 8, 2013







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Canada's David Hearn reacts after his par on the 12th green during the first round of the 2013 PGA Championship …


By Steve Keating

ROCHESTER, New York (Reuters) - David Hearn could win this week's PGA Championship and go on to capture golf's three other majors for a career grand slam but would still not be the most famous Canadian to call Brantford, Ontario, home.

Hearn, 34, fired a four-under-par 66 to briefly feature atop the PGA Championship's first-round leaderboard on Thursday and put himself squarely in contention for a maiden major.

But even if Hearn were to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy high on Sunday, it will never replace the image of Brantford's favorite son, hockey icon Wayne Gretzky, holding the National Hockey League's treasured Stanley Cup above his head.

"The Gretzky family is huge in our town for obvious reasons," said Hearn, who has met the Hall of Fame hockey player several times. "Wayne has been such a great inspiration for everybody in Canada, let alone Brantford.

"I'll be doing everything I can to make Brantford proud and give them another athlete to cheer for, for sure."

While there is a lot of golf still to be played before the season's final major is decided, not since Mike Weir slipped into the winner's green jacket at the 2003 Masters, has a Canadian golfer created some major buzz.

Playing in his first PGA Championship, Hearn got his round off to a stumbling start with a bogey at the first and finishing it the same way with a bogey at 18.

But in between, Hearn was flawless, carding six birdies to sit one shot back of clubhouse leader American Jim Furyk, who signed off with 65.

"Obviously a little disappointed with the finish, but after that bogey on one, got a birdie right back on number two and that kind of got me back in the direction pretty quickly," assessed Hearn. "In between that, I hit a lot of good shots, and yeah, really solid round."

While Gretzky, who now lives in California, was pegged for hockey stardom from an early age - the hockey stick that the 13-year-old used to score his 1,000th minor league goal selling at auction for $38,838 - Hearn would be known in hockey circles as a "grinder."

He has spent a large part of his career travelling golf's back roads scratching out a living on the Canadian, Asia and U.S. satellite tours.


But this season, Hearn's perseverance has started to payoff as he closes in on his first PGA Tour success.

Hearn enjoyed improved form ahead of the PGA Championship, recording a career-best second place finish at the John Deere Classic last month.

He sits 49th on the FedExCup standings and has earned $1 million in prize money this year - a third of his career earnings.

"The John Deere was a step forward for me in my career at this time; to be in contention on the biggest stage, maybe not the biggest tournament on the Tour, but definitely, in the playoff with Zach (Johnson) and Jordan (Spieth)," recalled Hearn.

"I took a lot of positives. I think when I do get in that situation again, I'll be able to pull from that and I'll look back at it as a great learning experience."

Certainly Hearn does not lack from high-profile support or advice.

Gretzky, who at one time sponsored a tournament on the Nationwide Tour and whose daughter Paulina is dating PGA Tour golfer Dustin Johnson, enjoys playing golf and has shared some of his competitive wisdom with Hearn.

Weir, Canada's most successful golfer, has also taken time to provide Hearn with some valuable career guidance.

"Coming from a hockey background, it wasn't directly golf related," said Hearn. "(Gretzky) definitely just shows a good example of how he became successful.

"Mike is at a point in his career now where he definitely wants to give back more and he's definitely doing a good job of that.

"He's definitely trying to take on that mentorship role."

(Editing by Frank Pingue)

Golf-Furyk in control at Oak Hill, Tiger toils

Golf-Furyk in control at Oak Hill, Tiger toils

August 8, 2013








* Furyk sets pace with opening 65

* Woods double-bogeys final hole for a 71 (Adds detail, Woods and Furyk quotes)

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

ROCHESTER, New York, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Jim Furyk took advantage of rain-softened conditions to surge into an early one-shot lead at the PGA Championship on Thursday asTiger Woods double-bogeyed his final hole to finish six strokes adrift.

American veteran Furyk, whose only major victory came at the 2003 U.S. Open, fired a five-under-par 65 in the opening round to take control on a sunny day at Oak Hill Country Club.

The 43-year-old piled up six birdies and a lone bogey, at the par-four ninth, to finish one ahead of Canadian journeyman David Hearn, who is making his debut appearance in the year's final major.

"Obviously I'm pleased with the round, I really felt in control this morning," said Fury, who has not won on the PGA Tour since 2010.

"I feel very comfortable with what I'm doing with my driver right now, and I've been doing some work on the putting, as well. Today was probably one of the best putting rounds, if not the best putting round I've had this year."

Englishman Paul Casey, Americans Robert Garrigus and Matt Kuchar, and Australian Marcus Fraseropened with 67s while American Steve Stricker and in-form Swede Henrik Stenson were among a group of six knotted on 68.

Woods appeared to be on track for a one-under round after relying on his renowned scrambling abilities for much of the day but he made a complete hash of the par-four ninth to return a one-over 71.

After hitting his second shot into tangly rough short of the green, he chunked his third under the lip of a bunker from where he splashed out to 15 feet. His bogey putt then lipped out and he had to settle for an ugly six.

"I'm still right there," said Woods. "As of right now, I'm only six back and we have got a long way to go.

"I feel like I played well today and made some nice key putts and the key is I left it in all the good spots too. The round realistically could have been under par easily."


Woods was a heavy favourite coming into this week after romping to a seven-stroke victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday, but is hunting his first major victory since the 2008 U.S. Open.

EARLY PACE

Hearn, who has played most of his professional golf on the lower-tier tours, began and ended his round with bogeys but piled up six birdies in between to set the early pace.

The 34-year-old, who lives in Brantford, Ontario where ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky was born, hit 10 of 14 fairways and produced some sparkling approach shots to move into contention for a first victory on the PGA Tour.

"I did a little bit of everything well, and drove it well," said Hearn, whose best finish on the U.S. circuit was a playoff loss at last month's John Deere Classic.

"It feels good for me to be in contention and I feel like I've been playing some really good golf the last few months."

Watched by massive galleries, Woods made an encouraging start with a birdie at the par-five 13th, his fourth hole, where he laid up in two after taking an iron off the tee before hitting a stunning approach to a foot short of the cup.

He also birdied the par-three 15th, sinking an eight-footer there, to reach the turn in two-under 33.

Woods squandered a golden birdie opportunity at the par-four second after he struck a superb approach to three feet, his putt not even touching the hole as it curled away on the low side.

His round unravelled over the closing stretch as he bogeyed the par-five fourth after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker before his messy finish at the ninth.

"I was completely blocked out and tried to shape one over there and I drew no lie at all from my third shot," Woods said. "I was just trying to play 20 feet long, putt back and try and just get bogey.

"I didn't even get over the bunker (with the third). Came out nowhere. Didn't really have much from there, hit a beautiful putt, just lipped out."

Defending champion Rory McIlroy, who is seeking to turn his game around after a poor year by his standards, was among the late starters.

Also setting off in the afternoon was the marquee group of this year's major winners - Australian Adam Scott (Masters), Englishman Justin Rose (U.S. Open) and American Phil Mickelson (British Open). (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Julian Linden)

A lost opportunity for Tiger in first round

A lost opportunity for Tiger in first round
DOUG FERGUSON (AP Golf Writer) August 8, 2013AP - Sports







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PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) -- Oak Hill was there for the taking. Tiger Woods gave away too many chances.

Woods had everything he needed to start the final major championship of the year on a good note. The conditions were soft, still and ideal for scoring. He was one shot out of the lead Thursday morning in the PGA Championship when he made the turn, and there was nothing to suggest he would stray too far away.

Instead, he staggered off the course with double bogey on his last hole for a 1-over 71. That's not bad on a course where there typically is a premium on par. It just looked ordinary compared with the 28 rounds at par or better from other early starters in the opening round.

A wasted opportunity?

''A little bit,'' Woods said.


That was a phrase he mentioned three times when going over a round that featured four tough putts for par, but a round that should have been in red numbers.

Oddly enough, it was his best stretch of golf that stalled his round.

After making the turn at 2 under with a simple bunker save on the 18th hole - Woods had 11 putts on the back nine - he hit his approach 12 feet below the cup on No. 1. His shot into the par-4 second hole caught the side of a hill and settled 4 feet away as the largest crowd at Oak Hill roared. Woods drilled his tee shot on the 214-yard third hole to 10 feet left of the hole.

He missed every putt, and he missed them badly. The worst of them was at No. 2, when Woods said he should have taken more time except that his group was on the clock. It was a side hill putt, difficult even from 4 feet on the greens at Oak Hill. Woods was so tentative that the ball fell sharply to the right and never even touched the cup.

A momentum killer?
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Tiger Woods lines up a putt on the 15th hole during the first round of the PGA Championship golf tou …

''A little bit,'' Woods said.

The real killer was the par-5 fourth hole, the only time Woods removed that Tiger head cover off his driver. After several rehearsals with his swing, the ball sailed well to the right, Woods simply picked up his tee. There was no emotion. It was almost as if he expected to miss the fairway. What he didn't count on was his next shot out of deep rough clipping a tree and spitting sideways into the fairway, costing him some 30 yards of roll.

From there, a poor 9-iron came up short and into the bunker, and he finally missed a par putt from 5 feet.

''Just one of those holes where I laid up and caught the tree,'' Woods said. ''It was supposed to be way down there if it just happened to get through there, but it didn't. And I stuck a 9-iron into the ground.''

Woods didn't have a single birdie chance on the last four holes - a chunked 3-iron off the tee at No. 7, a shot from the fairway into the bunker at No. 8. Even so, he was still at 1-under par and headed for an acceptable start.
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Tiger Woods reacts after hitting a shot from the fairway into a bunker on the fourth hole during the …

That changed on his final hole. Woods hit a 3-wood to the first cut of rough on the right side, the worst place to miss with a tree blocking his view of the green on the dogleg right. He came up short and left, in rough so deep that he was trying to just land it on the green about 20 feet away. He didn't even reach the green, coming up short and into the bunker, and he blasted out to 12 feet and two-putted for double bogey.

For a guy who has struggled on the weekend at the majors, Woods didn't help himself in the opening round.

The good news? It was his lowest score in five rounds at Oak Hill. And it was only Thursday.

''I'm still right there,'' he said. ''And we've got a long way to go.''

Golf-Tiger unable to tame Oak Hill, not soured by late stumble

Golf-Tiger unable to tame Oak Hill, not soured by late stumble

August 8, 2013








By Frank Pingue

ROCHESTER, New York, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods, who arrived at this week's PGA Championship as the overwhelming favourite to win a 15th major, was still liking his chances despite a messy finish to his opening round on Thursday.

Woods, who is looking to snap a five-year title drought in golf's elite championships, had a bogey and double-bogey over his final six holes as part of a one-over 71 that left him six strokes behind clubhouse leader Jim Furyk. {ID:nL4N0G94EJ]

"I'm still right there," said Woods, who started out on the back nine and was two under after six holes. "As of right now, I'm only six back and we have a long way to go."

In relatively benign conditions on an Oak Hill course that was softened by overnight rain, Woods scrambled to make several par-saving putts but was unable to take full advantage of any spurts of momentum.

On his first hole, the par-four 10th, Woods sent his tee shot into the first cut of rough and then yelled at himself after leaving his approach short of the green. Woods chipped past the hole but sank an eight-footer for par.

He missed the green on his next hole, the par-three 11th, but salvaged par with a short putt after chipping out of some greenside rough.

Woods picked up his first stroke of the day at the massive 598-yard, par-five 13th hole, tapping in for birdie after a stunning approach shot left him just short of the cup.

ENORMOUS ROAR


The world number one got to two under when he drained a eight-foot birdie putt at the par-three 15th that set off an enormous roar from an adoring gallery that followed his every move at sunny Oak Hill.

Woods also did well to save par at his ninth hole when he got up and down from a greenside bunker.

"The round realistically could have been under par easily," said Woods, who arrived at Oak Hill fresh from a seven-stroke win at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

"I feel like I played well today and made some nice key putts and the key is I left it in all the good spots too."

The world number one's round started to unravel when he bogeyed the par-five fourth after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker.

But it was his final hole that was a far cry from the red-hot form he has been showcasing of late to earn the nod as title favourite in the year's final major.

"I was completely blocked out and tried to shape one over there and I drew no lie at all from my third shot," said Woods, who is seeking his first major crown since the 2008 U.S. Open.

"I was just trying to play 20 feet long, putt back and try and just get bogey.

"I didn't even get over the bunker (with the third). Came out nowhere. Didn't really have much from there, hit a beautiful putt, just lipped out." (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)