Ominous presence at the top

GOLF 134th British Open Championship Almost as soon as the 134th British Open got under way yesterday, the world's number one provided a sense of inevitability about the course it would run.at St Andrews

As one birdie after another by Tiger Woods was greeted with huge roars that resonated through the swales and hollows and sand hills of the Old Course, those many players on the putting green and on the range who hadn't yet started out on their journey knew that an intimidating marker was being laid down.

Funnily enough, by day's end, as grey clouds gathered in the darkening skies over the Kingdom of Fife, Woods didn't appear quite as untouchable. Sure, his round of six-under-par 66 held the lead. And, sure, his was an intimidating presence on the leaderboard.

As Colin Montgomerie put it, "It's ominous, unfortunately, for me and the rest of the competitors. If there's a course built for Tiger, it's this one."

Nevertheless, there were enough heavyweights cast in the role of pursuers to indicate that Woods wouldn't have things entirely his own way. On a day when the early starters, Woods among them, generally got the better of the weather conditions, with the wind stiffening as the day progressed, the Masters champion and US Open runner-up finished just one shot clear of Australian Mark Hensby.

Behind them, a logjam formed, with no fewer than 10 players, among them Retief Goosen and Luke Donald, finishing up on the 68 mark.

Elsewhere, Vijay Singh settled into a challenging position after a 69. But Sergio Garcia, who had moved to within a shot of Woods with six holes to play, finished poorly, bogeying three of the holes on that closing stretch and signing for a 70. "Hopefully this was my worst round and I can get on with it," said the Spaniard.

Michael Campbell finally brought himself back to earth after his heroics in Pinehurst. "On Monday, I drew the line between being US Open champion and preparing for a golf tournament. I went out there just to get away from being labelled US Open champion, went out just to try and play golf.

"I focused on all of my processes and all of my routines and it worked," said the Kiwi, who had a 69.

Unlike 2000, when Woods completed all four rounds without visiting any of the 112 bunkers on the course, and when he finished eight shots clear of the runners-up, such immunity was removed and the protective field around the sand traps was penetrated on three occasions in the first round.

"It's not a good spot to be in, that's for sure, because these faces are obviously so high," observed Woods, who was simply discovering the challenge that other mere mortals face on a regular basis.

Not anticipating such a stiff breeze, the R&A set out to protect the course and had some typical Sunday pin positions. "I think they had 18 of them," remarked Darren Clarke, who had six three-putts.

Yet, despite the tough pins and the arrival of a wind that made shot-making and club selection critical, the course was a tough but fair test.

Some players who would have fancied their prospects didn't fare too well, however.

Ernie Els - "What can you say? My game is just not going. I was in too many bunkers, made too many mistakes," said the South African - and Phil Mickelson signed for 74s; Chris DiMarco had a 75, and Jim Furyk shot a 78 that confirmed just how difficult he finds links golf.

Furyk has missed the cut in the past four British Opens, dating back to 2001 at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

Hensby had no such problems in playing through the more difficult afternoon conditions to emerge as Woods' main challenger.

For someone who once upon a time lived in his car while a struggling professional in the States, he has made giant strides this year. He finished tied-fifth in the Masters and tied-third in the US Open.

"The majors require a good short game, and most of the time I've got a good short game," said the Aussie, who progressed to the US Tour via the secondary Nationwide Tour.

Last year, he earned a spot in the British Open at Troon by winning his maiden tournament, the John Deere Classic, but he didn't travel.

So, this was his introduction to links golf and, quite frankly, he couldn't work out what all the fuss was about.

"It's not really different than any other golf. You try and hit a ball at a spot and you go on from there," he said matter-of-factly, adding: "I don't have expectations. I'll just go and play tomorrow and hopefully have a chance on Sunday."

If Hensby's low expectations may be some sort of a psychological ploy, with himself as much as anyone else, nobody is in any doubt as to the expectations of Woods. "You always feel like you should win it. If you enter it, you enter to win. Or else why enter?" wondered Woods.

At one stage yesterday, Woods looked as if he would decimate the field, just as he did on the way to an eight-shot winning margin in 2000.

He had birdies seemingly at whim for much of his journey. From 20 feet on the fourth; a tap-in on the fifth, where he two-putted from 30 feet; from four feet on the seventh;

and another short putt on the ninth, where he two-putted from 90 feet.

He started the homeward run like a train, reeling off birdies on the 10th, 11th and 12th, before bogeying the 13th, where he was bunkered with his approach, and dropping another shot on the 16th, when he was again bunkered.

But he finished with a birdie on the 18th for a 66 that put him in a familiar - and intimidating - position atop the leaderboard.