Rose tops at Bay Hill, Tiger and Fritsch lurk
ORLANDO, FLA.— Justin Rose started out as another guy in Tiger Woods’ group Thursday at Bay Hill. He wound up in the lead.
Rose put on a clinic with the putter and ran off four straight birdies late in his round for a 7-under 65, giving him a two-shot lead after the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Woods had two sloppy bogeys from greenside bunkers, and didn’t hit it as well as he did when he won Doral two weeks ago.
But he made enough key par saves and manhandled the par 5s to scratch out a 69, a reasonable start as he tries to win Bay Hill for the eighth time and return to No. 1 in the world.
It was only the sixth time in 31 rounds at Bay Hill that Rose broke 70.
“If you had said I would shoot a 65 on the range this morning, I would have probably said, ‘How many holes have I played?’ And that didn’t change much,” Rose said. “The first five, six holes out there were a grind.”
John Huh had a chance to catch him late in the afternoon, but needing a birdie on the final hole, he found a fairway bunker on No. 9 and took bogey for a 67. John Rollins and Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch were at 68.
Rose and Woods played in the morning, the tougher side of the draw because of chilly temperatures and a strong breeze. Also in the group at 69 with Woods were Ryo Ishikawa, Nick Watney, Sean O’Hair and Bill Haas, who bogeyed his last two holes. British Open champion Ernie Els played with Rose and Woods and disappeared quickly. The Big Easy salvaged a 75. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot 75, while Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., and Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., each shot 76.