Woods shines, but rain stops play

Only a limited amount of play was possible on the opening day of the NEC world championship in Akron. But it was nonetheless eventful, with the performance of Tiger Woods the highlight.

After waiting five hours to tee off, Tiger Woods had three birdies and two bogeys in the eight holes he managed before the threat of lightning drove the 76-strong field off.

At one under par, he was two behind pacesetter KJ Choi of South Korea.

Padraig Harrington played only two. But after a pulled opening drive led to a double bogey, he birdied the next – while Masters champion Phil Mickelson made a 12-foot eagle putt, then dumped his approach to the third into water and double-bogeyed.

Torrential overnight rain and then more thunderstorms prevented any play in the £3.7m (€5.5m) tournament until 2.45pm, and the suspension came two hours 20 minutes later.

There were still areas of surface water when the action did finally begin, and because of the saturated fairways preferred lies were allowed.

Woods, without a stroke play success all season and in danger of losing his world number one spot to either Vijay Singh or Ernie Els, flew the opening green and missed a putt of barely three feet.

He slung his putter at his bag walking off but was on in two at the lengthened 526-yard uphill second, then pitched to five and four feet on the next two holes.

Playing his tee shot to the short seventh, he let go of his club and watched it finish in sand – and after coming out weakly to 25 feet, his wedge this time went flying to the bag as his frustration showed.

Singh, who might only need to tie with Woods on Sunday to go to the head of the rankings for the first time in his career, turned in a one-over 36.

The newly-crowned US PGA champion was playing the back nine, the field switching to a two-tee start and mostly in threes to try to make up some of the lost time.

After pushing his opening drive, the Fijian clipped leaves and came up short of the green – and then chipped 10 feet past and missed.

Another shot went at the 180-yard 12th, both his tee shot and his chip failing to make the putting surface. But after laughing about that, he birdied the next after his 180-yard approach stopped two feet from the flag.

Defending champion Darren Clarke kicked off with an 18-foot birdie putt but had to make a nine-footer on the second just for par after going over the green and chipping too strongly – and he then bogeyed the 471-yard fourth after hooking his drive into the trees.

He dropped another on the seventh, while Paul McGinley – 10th in the Ryder Cup chase and with a golden opportunity to leapfrog over the absent David Howell and Ian Poulter, respectively eighth and ninth – bogeyed the 14th and 15th.

Colin Montgomerie just had time to birdie the long second before being taken back to the clubhouse.

The Scot has to finish in the top nine to keep alive his hopes of qualifying automatically for Bernhard Langer’s side.

Otherwise he will need a wild card at the end of next week’s BMW International Open in Munich.

Five of Europe’s side will be determined on Sunday off a table based on world ranking points earned in the past year.

Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Lee Westwood are in position to claim those.

Thomas Levet, Casey, Howell, Poulter and McGinley – sixth at last week’s US PGA championship – fill the other five spots at present. But the failure of Howell and Poulter to qualify for the event could cost them dear.