2007 British Open First Round News & Notes

Carnoustie, Scotland (Sports Network) - Who was the only player in the field to go through Carnoustie on Thursday without a bogey?
Would you believe an 18-year-old Northern Ireland amateur named Rory McIlroy?
He shot a three-under 68 to put himself in a tie for third with two of the last three U.S. Open champions. That 68 could have easily been a 66 and a share of the lead with Sergio Garcia.
"This is just awesome," said McIlroy. "I really enjoyed myself out there today. To play Carnoustie with no bogeys on your card, probably the toughest Open course, that's pretty good."
McIlroy birdied the par-four fifth hole, then added another at 10. At the par- three 13th, McIlroy hit a seven-iron inside three feet and holed the birdie putt to reach three-under par for the championship.
At the par-five 14th, McIlroy hit his third to five feet, but missed the birdie putt. One hole later, the 18-year-old once again got about three feet from the hole, but this time missed the birdie putt.
McIlroy closed with a pair of pars and when Garcia bogeyed the 16th, the young man who won the European Amateur Championship last year had the only bogey- free round.
"I played some really good golf," acknowledged McIlroy. "I probably should have been a couple better."
McIlroy confirmed that he will turn professional later this year after representing Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup. He will compete on the European Tour with hopes of making the PGA Tour some day.
"Hopefully I establish myself there," said McIlroy, referring to his play on the European Tour. "I'd love to be able to say I won this one day and play on Ryder Cup teams and win majors. It'd be pretty nice."
THE FORGOTTEN GOAT
Everyone by now has heard or read or seen a piece on Jean van de Velde this week. His collapse on the 72nd hole at Carnoustie eight years ago was an epic flameout, not just in golf, but in all of sports.
There has been some time devoted to Paul Lawrie. Considering he shot the lowest round of the day on Sunday and actually won the thing, it's not inappropriate.
The fella you may not have heard too much about is Rod Pampling.
In 1999, Pampling, then an unknown Australian who toiled mainly on the Australasian Tour and went by Rodney, not Rod, shot an even-par 71 and led after round one.
On Friday of '99, Pampling came back with an 86 and missed the cut. That was the last time a first-round leader at a major actually failed to advance to the weekend.
"It was a bear of a golf course," said Pampling. "I know I really didn't play that badly. I just had horrendous lies in the rough and it added up really quickly."
With Lawrie at plus-two and Van de Velde on the shelf with a stomach ailment, Pampling might find himself in the spotlight a little more this week. He handled it fine on Thursday.
Pampling shot a one-under 70 in round one and is part of a group tied for 13th place. Hopefully he can avoid a big number on Friday and see how Carnoustie plays on the weekend.
"When you get weather like this, the whole golf course changes," said Pampling, who played early on Thursday in cold and rainy conditions.
Pampling has certainly rebounded from the miscues in time. He won the 2004 International and also titled at Bay Hill last year. Pampling is 36th in the world rankings and has an outside chance to make the International Presidents Cup team.
"I don't worry about it," said Pampling.
RETURN TO HOPE
The player that made the biggest impact early on Thursday was British Amateur champion Drew Weaver. He birdied his first two holes, but ultimately slipped down the leaderboard.
"I got off to a great start, I couldn't have pictured starting off any better... the conditions were not easy by any means," said Drew.
Weaver finished with a 76 and is tied for 118th place.
Weaver's story this week is one about returning to form after tragedy. He will be a junior at Virginia Tech University and led the Hokies to a share of the ACC title.
Weaver was two buildings away from the massacre at the Virginia Tech campus in April. He wears a patch on his golf bag to honor those last during the horrible tragedy.0
"Although the events of April 16 will never leave me," Weaver said on a blog written for opengolf.com, "I believe that going through that terrible day has made me a stronger person emotionally. I feel that I have a much better perspective on life in general after everything that my fellow students and I went through a few months ago."
* Tiger Woods received a favorable ruling after an errant drive on 10. His tee ball ran into the rough near television cables. Woods got a free drop from a rules official and he was able to save par. "That was a weird drop," said Woods."
* If Woods can visit the winner's circle on Sunday, he will become the first player to win this event three years in a row since Peter Thomson turned the trick in 1954-56. However, Thomson lost in 1957 only to return to victory in 1958.
* Two players held at least a share of the lead on Thursday, but stumbled badly. Achi Sato, who is only in the field thanks to a second at the Mizuno Open Yomiuri Classic in June, birdied four in a row early, but only managed an even-par 71. John Daly holed out for an eagle at 11 to get to minus-five, but carded a double-bogey at 12, a triple at 14 and three bogeys in his final five to shoot a three-over 74.
* Phil Mickelson drove the ball well and hit some greens, but did not putt well at all. He bogeyed the last to shoot an even-par 71. "I didn't take advantage of a day that allowed a lot of low scores," he said.
* The temperatures were low on Thursday and rain greeted the players in the morning. There were no stoppages in round one.
* The easiest hole on Thursday was the par-five 14th, playing to an average of 4.70. Amazingly, the hardest hole is the par-four closing hole which played to an average of 4.71.