DiMarco tops leaderboard at end of delayed 1st round
Web posted
Saturday, April 9, 2005
DiMarco made a birdie and three pars to complete 5-under-par 67, which was good for a one-shot lead over Vijay Singh and Luke Donald.
Thirteen players finished the round under par as Mother Nature took center stage again at Augusta National Golf Club. Tee times were delayed Thursday by more than five hours, and tournament officials started players on both nines to expedite play.
Only 24 players completed the first round Thursday, but the rest of the field returned Friday morning and completed the round before weather delayed the second round.
DiMarco began his round Thursday on the back nine, shooting 35. Then he birdied the first three holes of the front nine to seize the lead at 4-under, and he parred the next two holes before play was halted at 7:23 p.m.
This is the second time in five trips to the Masters that DiMarco has held the lead after 18 holes. In 2001, his debut year, DiMarco shot 65 and eventually finished tied for 10th.
"I like the golf course. It sets up good for me,'' DiMarco said. "I like the imagination you have to have around the greens. I think that really goes to my game.''
Singh, the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, began Friday with a daunting task: resuming his round on the par-3 12th. He made par there, then birdied Nos. 13 and 14 to reach 4-under. He parred in from there to complete his 68.
Donald, a Masters first-timer, was 3-under when play stopped Thursday. He also birdied the sixth hole, his first of the day, and parred in for 68.
Woods struggled for the third straight year at Augusta, playing his remaining six holes Friday in even-par fashion to complete 2-over-par 74. Els did not fare any better, finishing his round at 75.
Reach John Boyette at (706) 823-3337 or john.boyette@augustachronicle.com.
