The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Ramey grabs Players lead in his debut at event
Chad Ramey managed to avoid stress and bogeys Thursday in The Players Championship for an 8-under 64, making him an unlikely leader on a TPC Sawgrass course that rarely fails to deliver a surprise.
Ramey had a one-shot lead over two-time major champion Collin Morikawa in mild conditions at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Roughly half the field was at par or better.
That doesn’t mean it was devoid of drama.
Hayden Buckley made an ace on the famed island green at the 17th, a hole he had only seen on TV until he arrived this week for his Players Championship debut.
Aaron Wise lost four balls in a span of two holes — in the water on the 17th, and then three straight tee shots in the drink left of the 18th fairway, where he closed with a 10, one short of the record for highest score on the closing hole.
Rory Mcilroy had his highest score in just over a year. The 2019 Players champion opened with a 6, closed with a 6 and was pretty ordinary in between on his way to a 76.
Ramey had no such problems, putting for birdie on all but two holes during the slightly more peaceful morning conditions.
“I might have made it look that way but it wasn’t easy at all,” Ramey said. “It was fun. First time to shoot a score on such an iconic course like this. You can’t ask for any more.”
Morikawa has missed two cuts in his last three starts, rare for him, and spent extra time in his days off trying to find that fade that has carried him to so much early success. He thinks he is swinging it now as well as he did a few years ago.
DP WORLD TOUR >> John Catlin and Dylan Mostert shared the first-round lead at the European tour’s Kenya Open after beginning with impressive 64s. Catlin of the United
States made five birdies and an eagle in his opening round of 7 under par. Mostert of South Africa had eight birdies and one bogey to join him.
They lead by a shot from Frenchman Pierre Pineau and the Netherlands’ Wil
Besseling.
WOODS FACING LEGAL CLASH WITH EX-GIRLFRIEND >> Tiger Woods’ former girlfriend wants to nullify a nondisclosure agreement she signed with golf’s biggest star in a legal dispute that involves allegations of an abrupt breakup after six years together.
Attorneys for Woods’ exgirlfriend, Erica Herman, are asking for clarity on what she can and cannot say, according to documents filed in Martin County Circuit Court in south Florida.
Woods lives in Hobe Sound in Martin County, north of West Palm Beach, and the complaint said Woods and Herman had been living together. According to the complaint, a trust controlled by Woods is trying to silence Herman with an NDA she signed while involved in a “personal and professional relationship” with Woods.
The complaint argues it should be nullified under the “Speak Out Act,” which became federal law in December and prohibits an NDA from being enforced when sexual assault or sexual harassment is involved.
Herman has not specifically accused Woods of sexual abuse; the civil cover sheet indicates the case involves sexual abuse.
She alleges they had an 11year oral tenancy agreement, and that five years remained on it when she was removed from the property through what she described in the complaint as “trickery.”
Herman, who once worked at his Jupiter Woods restaurant, alleges Woods’ agents persuaded her to pack for a short vacation. She claims when she arrived at the airport, they told her she had been locked out of the house and was not to return.