Glover takes new approach

GOLF: So, the monster that is the number three course didn't bite; and, no, the circus that brought Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as the stars of the 88th US PGA championship to Medinah Country Club in the north-western suburbs of Chicago didn't merely have two attractions.

It had many, some with thoughts as much on the Ryder Cup at The K Club six time zones away as on the championship itself.

This was a first round of low scoring, surprisingly lower than anyone anticipated on a course with the longest yardage in the history of the majors. And it was a day that raised the spirit of US Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman, who saw many potential members of his team respond to the demands and pressures of the final qualifying event with nerves of steel.

Yes, the big two of Tiger and Phil strutted their stuff, each producing rounds of 69, three-under. But those solid opening rounds, jockeying for position as it were, were still some way adrift of hotter scoring, led by Ryder Cup prospect Lucas Glover, who opened with a 66, six-under, to assume the early clubhouse lead.

On a horrible old day for the Irish players in the field, Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell, who each signed for 75s, the European challenge was led by England's Luke Donald. Despite some erratic driving, Donald muscled together a round of 68.

What does he think of those who tout this as a possible breakthrough win in a major?

"I try not to listen, just try to play my own game. You've got to take every hole as it comes, and when you hit a bad shot, to dismiss them and just carry on," said Donald.

In the main, though, the first round was dominated by Americans, many of them with aspirations of leapfrogging onto Lehman's team. Glover, for one, started this championship in 14th position and requiring a minimum position of eighth to force his way onto the team.

The Ryder Cup has been on his mind for months. "Every day, every minute, every second for the last six months," responded Glover when asked if he'd been thinking of the match. "But I decided to put that behind me this week and try to just play golf, to have fun, and not to worry about it. If I play well, it'll take care of itself. If not, I've tried (my best).

"I hate to say it like I'm giving up, but it had not worked pressing so hard the past three months. I'm just trying something else."

Certainly the new approach worked for Glover, who has started working with coach Butch Harmon. In a round of eight birdies and two bogeys, the 26-year-old from South Carolina, competing in just his second US PGA, contrived to claim the clubhouse lead.

Prior to his round, Glover had joined many players, caddies and officials for a prayer service on the putting green to honour Heather Clarke, Darren Clarke's wife.

"Butch has told me what kind of guy he is, and the times I've talked to him, he's been great. I just went because I felt like, number one for Butch, and number two because that was the right thing to do. He plays on our tour a lot and he's won a lot and he's a top-ranked player and it's a pretty big tragedy," said Glover.

However, unlike other players, like Michael Campbell who confessed to feeling "numb" for the first few holes after attending the service, Glover's response was to find a string of birdies, covering the back nine in 32 on the way to a 66.

He had only to look over his shoulder, though, to find other players outside the US Ryder Cup team. Billy Andrade came in with a 67 and Stewart Cink signed for a 68. Meanwhile, Davis Love, one of the late starters, had reached six-under for his round through 11 holes.

The star attractions of the first round, however, were the three-ball of Woods, Mickelson and US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy. "I guess everyone has been waiting to see those two player together in a major for a while, and I got the best seat in the house. Early on, it was quite crazy," said the Australian, who equalled the 69s of the season's other two major winners.

Woods bogeyed his opening hole, the par five 10th, after driving into the trees on the left, while Mickelson started birdie-birdie.

"Overall, it was just a grind-them-out kind of round. Nothing really exciting, just grind it out," said Woods.

With barely a breath of wind yesterday and the greens playing very receptive, the scoring, in the main, was very good.

"If you hit some bad shots, you'll be penalised, but the guys playing well will be only going into the greens with a bunch of seven-irons to wedge in your hand. If you're swinging well, you're going to shoot some low numbers," said Woods.

The smile indicated Mr Glover may need to look further down the leaderboard to find his real threat.