Lesser lights shine on first day at the Open By Erskine McCullough MUIRFIELD, Scotland, (AFP) - The leaderboard after the first round of the Open championship reads more like a 'who's that?' rather than a 'who's who' of world golf. Missing from the list were the likes of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia - instead it was filled by Duffy Waldorf, Carl Pettersson, Sandy Lyle and Des Smyth. Only world number six David Toms was able to live up to his pre-tournament billing and exploit a Muirfield that could not have been easier. There was no wind, the sun was out and the fairways and greens were holding. Toms' four under 67 gave him a share of the lead with Waldorf and little known Swede Pettersson, playing in his first Major. The 35-year-old Toms, who has shot up through the rankings following his win in the USPGA last year, played near flawless golf as he carded five birdies. Only a single bogey marred his card. "I took advantage of a perfect day in Scotland," said the American. "When I had a chance to get a ball close I took it and I capitalized. The big thing I did today was I putted well." The same could not be said for Woods in his quest for the Grand Slam. The 26-year-old could only manage a one-under 70. But if his putter had been hot, he could easily have been four to five shots better. "It was frustrating," said Woods. "I was hitting beautiful putts and they were lipping out. I had six or seven lip-outs for birdie. "Overall I am very pleased by the way I played today. It was very crisp, very clean." Woods' putting woes were not lost on Toms. "I saw him on television and he didn't make a putt all day. He still shot under par so he still played well. He'll be there in the end. He probably thinks that in the conditions today that is as bad as he will play," said Toms. Waldorf, who only qualified for the Open two weeks ago, said he did not care where he finished in the championship "I just go out and enjoy playing. I'm just excited to play here. I don't care if I finish 15th or 83rd," smiled the 39-year-old from California. The 24-year-old Pettersson could have had the lead to himself but a bogey on the final hole when he pulled his tee shot left into the rough saw him slip back into a three-way tie. "It feels great to be tied for the lead but it is just the first day. We have three more to go and I am looking forward to them," said Pettersson World number two Phil Mickelson birdied the last two holes to get himself on the leaderbaord, tied with a handful of players all at three-under - one shot off the lead. But it was not an impressive performance from Mickelson who came into the championship with a whole range of new shots in his armoury specially for links golf. "I was very fortunate to shoot three-under. I didn't drive it particularly well. I missed a lot of fairways," he admitted. Veteran Nick Price, who finished fifth in the US Open a month ago, put himself firmly in contention with his three-under 68. The 45-year-old looked to be heading for a weekend off after his outward nine as he sprayed the ball all over the place but the 1994 Open winner regrouped on the road home, hitting three birdies. England wonder kid Justin Rose refused to let all the hoopla surrounding his pairing with Woods affect him. The 21-year-old went to four-under par at the turn and only a bogey on the par-four 10th marred his scorecard. "Obviously I got off to a really good start - par, birdie, birdie. I saw my name on the leaderboard straight away which was a nice start and capped off the front with an eagle on the ninth which suddenly shot me to the top of the leaderboard," enthused Rose, a four-time winner this season. But Rose knows that beating Woods on the opening day means little. "I don't think outscoring Tiger today means anything for the rest of the tournament. Day one and day two is jostling for position, getting your name in the leaderboard come the weekend," he said. Garcia nearly played himself out of the tournament with a nightmare start that saw him rush to three-over. "On the front nine I had a couple of really bad shots and paid the price big time," said the 22-year-old who managed to finish with a level par 71. "I kept going and hit the ball much better on the back nine and made some good birdie chances and some good putts. What you don't want to do in a Major is put yourself out of it early on," he added. Els, who admitted his game had gone off for the past several weeks managed to get it together on the way home after going out in one-over. The South African finished the day one-under and firmly in contention. It was a perfect day for two of Europe's veterans - Lyle and Smyth Smyth, only nine months away from joining the seniors tour, and Lyle both came in with early 68s which brought back memories of their glory days. "The conditions were ideal. No breeze, the ball holding. It was as good as Muirfield could ever get," said the 49-year-old Smyth, who very nearly failed to make the start. The Irishman strained a leg muscle on Monday afternoon and has been taking anti-inflammatory pain killing tablets. But there was little sick-looking about his round. Only a bogey at the tough opening hole blotted his scorecard. It was an equally impressive round from the 44-year-old Lyle, coming back from a disastrous start to the year. It was like the Lyle of old. "That really boosted my confidence," he said. "It has got the juices flowing again." Published: July 19, 2002 --

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