Treat for the early birds
A two-and-a-half-hour rain delay at the start of the race for the sport’s biggest prize - €1,450,000 - meant only Retief Goosen earned a quarter-final place on day one. And he had to break the tournament record to do that, thrashing American Jeff Maggert by a 12 and 11 margin.
Defending champion Ernie Els, trying for a record-busting sixth title, is two-up with two to play on Scotland’s Scott Drummond - and relieved to be so handily placed entering the two closing par fives.
A massive 116 places lower than his superstar opponent on the world rankings, Drummond had hopes of pulling off one of the biggest shocks in the event’s 41-year history when he took a two-hole lead on four occasions. But the South African found top form just in time to turn things round.
An upset is still on the cards in one of them, with world number one Vijay Singh two down against Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Bernhard Langer, at 86th the second lowest ranked player in the 16-man field. But they still have 10 holes to go.
Lee Westwood meanwhile, stands three-up on Open champion Todd Hamilton after 29 of the 36 holes and Padraig Harrington is all square with American Ryder Cup opponent Chris Riley with four to play.
The others are tight affairs as well. Argentina’s Angel Cabrera is one-up on South Korean KJ Choi with three holes left, while Ryder Cup team-mates Thomas Levet and Miguel Angel Jimenez are all square against Mike Weir and Steve Flesch respectively. So Maggert is the only player to have departed so far.
Els knows he has been in a fight no matter what the outcome on the resumption - which is 8am across the board.
While 30-year-old Drummond rose to the occasion on his return to the course where he had his amazing Volvo PGA championship win in May - he was 435th in the world then - Els really struggled in the morning round. But he got out of it only one down and after a 30-minute break looked a different golfer.
The world number two birdied the 20th from six feet and the next from 10 feet to go ahead for the first time. Even when Drummond almost made albatross at the long 22nd Els halved it in eagle threes by chipping in from 25 yards.
On the 25th Drummond putted up the big slope and off the green and chipped in for a half in par fours, then as the rain returned Els took the next completely against the head, holing from 30 feet and seeing his opponent miss from six.
The 27th followed the same pattern, Els hooking his drive and making a 10-footer for par, the Scot bunkering and failing to get up and down. Three down with nine to play, the writing was on the wall for him, but Els had gone to the turn in a five under 30 to turn things completely around.
Drummond did win the 29th with a 10-foot birdie putt and after Els chipped to a foot two holes later to go three-up again he bogeyed the 33rd and so missed the chance to finish his man off right by his home.
Harrington, last man into the event thanks to 13 withdrawals, made two eagles in his opening 67, holing from 18 feet at the fourth and chipping in at the 17th. He led on five occasions, but could never get away and lost the 23rd and 24th to fall behind. The Dubliner then returned to one ahead before Riley hit a six-iron to four feet and levelled yet again at the 31st.
Westwood, winner in 2000, was involved in a battle with Hamilton, who got his nose in front three times early on, then found himself in arrears either side of the interval. Westwood was another to chip in for eagle at the 17th and birdied the short 20th.
He made what could a decisive burst before play was suspended, winning the 27th with a par four when his opponent three-putted and holing birdie putts of 18 and 13 feet on the next two. Singh and Langer did not even start until 12.15am, knowing there was no way they could avoid the game going into a second day until one of them ran away with things.
It never happened. There was never more than one hole in it over the opening lap. Langer missing the chance to go into the break one-up by missing a three-footer on the last.
Langer won the next three holes from all square after 22. There was time only for one more hole and Singh took it to revive his hopes.
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