Golf: Faldo goes for it

Four months away from his 45th birthday, Nick Faldo made the world of golf sit up and take notice of him again today.

Without a solo success for over five years now, Faldo opened the prestigious Players’ Championship in Florida with a brilliant front nine of 32 to share the lead.

And when play for the day came to an end following an earlier two-and-a-half-hour rain delay the revitalised British star was only one off the lead held by Americans Phil Mickelson, Chris DiMarco and Scott Hoch - the man he beat in a play-off for the first of his three Masters titles 13 years ago.

‘‘All I said to myself was ‘make a good decision, stand up and go for it’. I just have to keep pushing myself to commit to shots, but I would love a confidence injection right now,’’ said Faldo.

‘‘This is a toughie. It’s head down and concentrate. I’m just trying to sneak along.’’

Half the field, including Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia and Darren Clarke as well as Faldo, were unable to finish because of the hold-up and will be forced to work overtime as the €6.5m event tries to make up for lost time.

Defending champion Woods, having birdied the 18th and second, bogeyed the fifth just before the suspension and so resumes on one under.

Garcia was going well at two under, while Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington were in the clubhouse on the same mark.

Faldo has already had three top 10 finishes this season - 10th and sixth in Australia and third in Singapore - and is convinced he can return to the winners’ enclosure somewhere soon.

He only had to think back three years, however, not to get carried away by a start which saw him putt brilliantly as he birdied the first two holes, then the seventh and ninth, where he pitched to five feet.

In 1999 he also went to the turn in 32, but came home in 39, had a third round 83 and then was disqualified on the final day for a wrong drop.

He does, however, have some happy memories of the Sawgrass course, finishing joint runner-up to Davis Love 10 years ago.

Dubliner Harrington was disappointed not to finish the day with at least a share of the lead, but Montgomerie took a lot of positives out of his 70.

Four under after seven holes, Harrington missed birdie chances at the 16th and 17th and then bogeyed the last.

‘‘I had four chip shots and they were all abominable, but I’d still have taken 70 at the start. Everybody would here,’’ he said.

At the long, but downwind 16th Harrington needed only a seven-iron for his second shot, but on his admission got greedy and went for the flag rather than the heart of the green.

It went right into the lake and he did well to salvage his par with a 15-foot putt. Then on the treacherous island green next, he hit his tee shot to four feet, but was hampered by a spike mark in his line and missed it.

At the last he pulled his second, this time onto the bank of a bunker, and sent his chip 15 feet past.

Montgomerie came out smiling and much to his delight was still doing it come the end of his day’s work.

Montgomerie was happy to have coped so well with the difficult windy conditions and to have been treated with the respect he wanted from the galleries.

Heckled at the Accenture world match play in California a month ago, he has since backed off from his threat not to return to America after this season.

But his first competitive round in the States since that latest incident was always going to be closely monitored and Montgomerie gave it the thumbs-up.

Asked by a large gathering of reporters afterwards if he was glad he had come so far, the 38-year-old Scot replied: ‘‘I like the ‘so far’ bit.

‘‘The fans were very positive indeed. I’m glad to see that and there’s no reason they shouldn’t be.

‘‘I had an awful lot of support and comments such as ‘glad to see you’, ‘good luck’ and ‘I’m Scotch’. That’s the whisky, but never mind.

‘‘It was a very difficult day with the wind, but I really like this course. I’m very positive playing here.’’

Only 15 spectators were gathered around the first tee when he teed off in the third group at 7.10am and the official starter set off on a good note by introducing Montgomerie as ‘‘winner of 26 international titles.’’

He did also say ‘‘from Surrey, England’’ rather than Scotland and a grumpier Montgomerie might have had words about that, but not this time.

Three wayward opening drives were a cause for concern, but he parred them all and at the downwind seventh hit a wedge to three feet.

The birdie putt did receive a shout, but it was an encouraging ‘‘yeah all right’’ and Montgomerie tipped his visor in acknowledgement.

A bogey followed and after pitching to four feet on the long 11th just before the stoppage he returned and went back to level par by duffing a chip beside the 13th green.

The Sawgrass finish can be a real card-wrecker, but Montgomerie chipped in from 20 feet, two-putted the long 16th and made pars at the 137-yard 17th and difficult last.

Lee Westwood, playing partner Bernhard Langer and Ireland’s Paul McGinley - diagnosed yesterday as suffering from bronchitis - managed only three over par scores of 75, while Paul Lawrie and Jose Maria Olazabal shot 73 and Rochdale-born Ed Fryatt had a 79. Clarke was two over at the turn.

Biggest surprise perhaps was that world number three Ernie Els, three times a winner already this year, slumped to a 76. He has never shone at Sawgrass, though.