Golf: Tiger Woods three strokes back in Abu Dhabi tournament, his season opener

No momentous shots for Tiger Woods. No bogeys, either.

The 14-time major winner opened his 2012 season with a solid first round Thursday at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in United Arab Emirates, shooting a 2-under 70 that left him three strokes behind co-leader Rory McIlroy, his playing partner.

"Hit the ball well all day today. It was a good ball-striking round," Woods said. "I had a hard time reading the greens out there. The greens were pretty grainy, and I just had a hard time getting a feel for it. Toward the end, I hit some pretty good putts, but overall I got fooled a lot on my reads."

McIlroy shot a 67, as did Robert Karlsson. But the best shots of the day came from Sergio Garcia (71) and Jose Manuel Lara (70) -- each had a hole-in-one on the par-3 12th hole.

Gareth Maybin, Richard Finch and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet were one shot behind the two leaders. Top-ranked Luke Donald, who played alongside Woods and McIlroy, shot a 71. Second-ranked Lee Westwood (72) and fourth-ranked Martin Kaymer (77) had poor starts and never challenged.

McIlroy, the U.S. Open champion from Northern Ireland, had three birdies on his first four holes, but erratic driving led to two bogeys on the next four. He had three birdies on his back nine, including a chip-in on No. 8 from just off the green.

Woods missed several birdie chances, including a 6-footer on his ninth, the 18th hole. He also struggled with his approach shots on a

course that was playing tougher than usual with its thick rough, resulting in many 25- and 30-footers coming up short.

PGA Tour: Spencer Levin and Kyle Stanley each posted a 10-under 62 on the easier North Course at Torrey Pines to lead after the opening round in the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego. Stanley made eagle on his final hole for his best 18-hole score in two years on the PGA Tour. Levin shot 29 on the back nine to match his career best round on tour.

They were a shot ahead of FedEx Cup champion Bill Haas, who had a double bogey on his 15th hole and still shot a 63. The top 12 on the leader board played the North, which played slightly more than 3?1/2 strokes easier than the South Course, which hosted the U.S. Open four years ago.

Marc Turnesa (66) had the best South Course score. Phil Mickelson, the three-time champion and San Diego favorite, hit into 11 bunkers, missed a 3-foot birdie putt on the final hole and signed for a 77.

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/golf/ci_19830676?source=rss_viewed

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