Golf Capsules: Percy ties for the lead at Houston Open

HUMBLE — Another Australian is off to a fast start at the Houston Open.

Cameron Percy shot a 67 late Thursday afternoon to tie Kevin Stadler for the first-round lead and extend a streak at the tournament for players from Down Under. An Aussie has led or shared the first-round lead in Houston every year since 2006, when the event moved to the Tournament Course at Redstone.

Six Australians have won a total of eight Houston Opens, including Stuart Appleby in 2006 and Adam Scott in ‘07. Appleby also won in 1999, and Bruce Crampton won twice (1973 and 1975).

Percy, a Tour rookie, would be more of a long shot, considering some of the big names in the field. Percy arrived in Houston ranked 173rd in putting average and the extra practice on the green this week paid off on Thursday.

"A friend of mine sat me down Tuesday, he looks at my stats," Percy said. "He said, ‘Cam, you’ve got to do something about your putting. It’s just woeful, only 70 percent, maybe from 3 feet.’ I spent hours and hours on the putting green Tuesday and Wednesday, and it’s made a little difference"

Stadler took advantage of an early tee time and posted his 67 more than an hour before Percy teed off.

Vaughn Taylor and James Driscoll — Stadler’s playing partners in a morning threesome — were a stroke back along with fellow morning starter Kevin Sutherland and Anthony Kim, who played in the afternoon when the wind picked up and gusted to 30 mph.

"I thought it was going to die down," Percy said, "but it never did."

Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Scott topped a group two strokes back at 69.

Ernie Els, coming off consecutive victories at Doral and Bay Hill, opened with 70. Fred Couples, who has won three straight starts on the Champions Tour, shot a 71.

Several top players have come to Houston because they view the Tournament Course at Redstone as an ideal dry run for next week’s Masters. Organizers have groomed the 7,457-yard layout to simulate the conditions at Augusta National, with fast greens, shaved mounds, light rough and the fairways mowed toward the tee.

But Harrington said now that the tournament has started, the players are focused on winning more than fine-tuning their games.

"It’s all about trying to win the Houston Open," he said. "Augusta can wait three more days."

Harrington said he played conservatively after a disappointing session on the practice range. He made three straight birdies on the back nine, playing his best after the wind picked up in the early afternoon.

"I was never quite sure of myself," he said. "I was happy to play the golf I played. I made the most of my opportunities when they came around. I just wasn’t very confident."

Kim was tied for the lead after making three straight birdies on his back nine, then finished with an adventurous bogey on the difficult 18th. Kim drove into the water, then hit his third shot off a corporate suite and over the water-guarded green. He pulled off a spectacular pitch over the massive greenside bunker, and the ball stopped 2 feet away.

"I didn’t like my chances there," Kim said. "I was looking right at the water and looked like the sand was pretty soft. So if I didn’t hit it perfectly, it’s going to be in one of those two spots."

Stadler, Taylor and Driscoll said they fed off each other, and they finished with six birdies apiece.

Taylor birdied five of his first eight holes, sinking a 47-fooer on No. 3 and a 23-footer on No. 6. Driscoll made the turn at 2 under, then birdied three of his first five holes on the back nine to move within a shot of Taylor’s lead.

Stadler then surged to 6 under with four straight birdies on the back nine. He settled for a 67 after a bogey on the last hole.

"We had a good time out there," Stadler said. "I was kind of kicking back, watching those guys make putts most of the day. I made a few late to kind of catch up to them."

The water-lined, 472-yard 18th was the hardest hole in the first round, playing to a 4.413-stroke average.

Defending champion Paul Casey withdrew Thursday morning because of a left shoulder injury. The 32-year-old Englishman called it "just a one-week thing" and won’t keep him out of next week’s Masters.

Vijay Singh withdrew with a back injury after playing nine holes, the third time in three weeks that he’s pulled out of a tournament.

Defending champ Casey withdraws from Houston Open

HUMBLE — Defending champion Paul Casey has withdrawn from the Houston Open because of a left shoulder injury.

Casey said Thursday that his shoulder feels "pinched" and is restricting his backswing. He says one of his rib muscles is also tight, but it’s unrelated to the rib injury that limited him to two European Tour events over the last five months of 2009.

The 32-year-old Englishman is hoping the latest injury is "just a one-week thing" and won’t keep him out of next week’s Masters.

"I’m visibly disappointed not to be going out there and playing today," Casey said. "But I’ve got to worry about the rest of the season and after last year’s experience, trying to play through an injury, I tried to do that for two weeks and it ended up costing me six months. The last thing I can afford to do is try and push it and cost myself any more time."

Casey has four top-10 finishes in four PGA Tour starts this year. He tied for fourth at the Honda Classic and tied for sixth at Doral.

He defeated J.B. Holmes in a playoff in Houston last year, his first and only PGA Tour victory. Casey said he probably won’t hit balls for 2-3 days and will stay in Houston to get treatment on his shoulder.

"We’ll keep looking at it and keep taking care of it," Casey said. "Unfortunately, that’s what I have to do."

Singh withdraws from Houston Open

HUMBLE — Vijay Singh withdrew from the Houston Open on Thursday because of a back injury, the third time in three weeks that he’s pulled out of a tournament.

Singh played nine holes in the first round, shooting a 43 with two double bogeys, before walking off the course. He also withdrew from the Transitions Championship two weeks ago and the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week.

"I think it’s the recurrence," Singh said. "It’s not as bad as what it was in Tampa, but I think if I kept going, it was going to go that way."

Singh, who tied for fourth at the Honda Classic and tied for 11th at Doral before withdrawing from the Transitions, said he’ll take the next four days off and "see what happens."

"It affects me when I’m hitting balls," he said. "It’s not my normal golf swing."

Earlier Thursday, defending Houston Open champion Paul Casey withdrew because of a left shoulder injury. The 32-year-old Englishman is hoping the latest injury is "just a one-week thing" and won’t keep him out of the Masters next week.

LPGA

Pettersen leads Ochoa by stroke in first major

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Suzann Pettersen went for a practically flawless desert drive in the opening round of the season’s first major.

The Norwegian star, trying to bounce back from a hip injury, shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 in the Kraft Nabisco Championship on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over former champion Lorena Ochoa, who missed birdie putts on her final two holes.

If there are any lingering symptoms from a hip injury that required a cortisone shot, they weren’t showing. Pettersen hit 12 fairways and 13 greens in regulation at 6,702-yard Mission Hills.

"It’s quite demanding off the tees, and there’s just certain tee shots you’ve just got to take on," she said. "And I think if you can place it off the tee, I think you’re in a very good position. You’ve just got to play what this course gives you. I’ve learned that over the years. And patience, obviously. I would take a bogey-free round any day around this place."

Asked if the greens or rough looked more difficult this year, she said: "I can’t really answer you about the rough."

She does know she doesn’t want to find out.

"You get in there, you’re looking at just hacking it out and hopefully get somewhere around the green or on the green if you’re lucky," she said. "So it’s quite important to keep the ball in play and give yourself a lot of good looks at the pins."

Majors champions Karrie Webb, Yani Tseng and Karen Stupples were in a group at 69.

Defending champion Brittany Lincicome curled in a birdie putt on 12 to drop to 4 under before bogeying Nos. 13 and 15 to finish with a 70.

Michelle Wie had a 71.

Pettersen has two top-10 finishes in three starts this year. The hip injury kept her from swinging a club for about three weeks.

"I thought I was going to have two solid weeks of practice. It turned out to be two solid weeks on the couch," said Pettersen, who won the 2007 LPGA Championship and has three straight top-5 finishes here.

Pettersen teed off shortly after 9 on a chilly morning.

"It got really cold as we warmed up," she said. "I thought I was going to ski, the way I was dressed."

It warmed up by late morning and turned into a pleasant day in the desert. The wind stayed down, and there are five majors winners within three shots of Pettersen.

Ochoa, who teed off three hours after Pettersen, had chances to tie the Norwegian star but rolled a long putt just right of the hole on No. 17 and then missed a 10-footer on 18. Top-ranked Ochoa, the 2008 champion, had six birdies and two bogeys.

"It was a good day for sure," Ochoa said. "It helped me with a good start. I think that’s why I’m happy to have a good start because you never know what’ll happen tomorrow. You could show up here and all of a sudden the wind is 30 mph."

Ochoa got off to a nice start with birdies on Nos. 2 and 3.

"I think I was putting for birdie on a lot of holes, so I think that will be a key," she said. "I think tomorrow if I do the same, I should be in good shape."

Tseng, who won the 2008 LPGA Championship, had an adventuresome round including an eagle, five birdies and four bogeys.

-- Bernie Wilson

Tiger Woods

Tiger’s remaining sponsors plot out his return

NEW YORK — Sponsors who stuck by Tiger Woods are ramping up to profit from his return to the golf course.

Upper Deck Co. will sell memorabilia like signed red shirts with price tags upward of $1,800. Electronic Arts Inc. has a new browser-based version of its Tiger-themed video game coming out next week. And Nike Inc. reportedly has a TV commercial featuring Woods in the works, though it won’t confirm that.

The big question is whether his tarnished image can work anything close to its old magic for them and the golf industry, which has been going through tough times of its own because of the weak economy.

It could be that all publicity is good publicity — as time passes since his admissions to extramarital affairs and he returns to golf after four months at the Masters, starting next Thursday.

Woods’ value as a pitchman who embodied professional perfection may have suffered. He became sports’ first $1 billion earner, but lost top endorsements from companies such as Accenture LLP and AT&T Inc. as the scandal unfolded.

But it’s hard to see much falloff in sales of some Woods-branded wares.

Golfsmith, the nation’s biggest chain of golf stores, and sports card and memorabilia maker Upper Deck Co. say Woods’ scandal that erupted in late November didn’t dampen demand for his products.

Golfsmith International Holdings Inc. says sales of Woods-branded hats, shirts and belts (all made by Nike) grew 8 percent from October through mid-March this year compared with last year. Most of that period came after word spread that the quiet, clean-cut golfer had a sex addiction and partook in serial infidelities.

The company sold 9,564 Woods-branded hats, belts, shirts and other products made by Nike from October through mid-March, compared with 8,855 in the same period the previous year.

Woods’ leave from golf will end in about a week at the Masters, the season’s first major tournament. It’s about time for an industry that has seen its retail sales drop as its main participants trim their tee times and spending habits in the recession.

"The tour wants him back. The players want him back. His endorsers want him back and like anybody with an economic interest in him, we want him back," said Golfsmith CEO Marty Hanaka.

Tiger has been good for golf. He’s brought more interest to the game from even casual players, and boosted television ratings and sponsorships — which has translated into higher payouts for Woods and his fellow golfers. In 1995, the year before Woods turned pro, the Masters’ total prize payout was $2.1 million. Last year, it reached $7.5 million.

The sport is in need of a boost again. The industry has seen an unprecedented slump because of the weak economy and unseasonably wet weather, which also depresses playing, said Tom Stine, co-founder of Golf Datatech LLC, a market research firm.

Total revenue for the golf industry was $2.4 billion last year, down 11.6 percent from $2.8 billion in 2008, the firm said. People are delaying equipment purchases but they’re still playing golf, said Stine, who expected minimal effect from Woods’ return.

EA is releasing the browser version of "Tiger Woods PGA Tour" on Tuesday. The timing is good, though coincidental: the video game maker announced the launch date a day before Woods announced his return and now figures his return will just add exposure for its sites for the game and its Woods franchise.

"Sometimes you just get lucky," said Craig Evans, marketing director of the game, who added visits to the company’s Woods sites have risen "significantly" since Woods said he’d return.

Former sponsors Accenture, AT&T and others who dropped Woods after his personal problems became public late last year have declined to say if they’ll make any changes once he returns. Accenture merely referred to its December news release that announced it would drop Woods.

Experts say it will likely be at least a year before any major new companies sign Woods. Companies that distanced themselves from him, like Procter & Gamble Co.’s Gillette unit, haven’t announced plans to feature him in advertisements again, either. Spokesman Damon Jones said Gillette has no plans to use Woods "for the foreseeable future."

Those who deal in razor blades and consulting services might be ambivalent, but the golf world undoubtedly wants him back.

"That’s just going to give golf this momentum that’s just going to send it into a whirlwind of a season, which will be huge for them," said Marshal Cohen, chief analyst for market research firm NPD.

Golfsmith’s Hanaka said he’s bracing for a surge in interest if Woods wins the Masters.

"You can see after he wins a major event, our stores are like the Saturday before Christmas," he said.

Upper Deck, which has had Woods as its golf spokesman and autograph signer since 2001, said there was no noticeable uptick or downturn in demand for Woods memorabilia. The company has new items it will sell no matter how Woods does at the Masters, including 50 autographed cleats for nearly $1,400 each. And if Woods does win, Upper Deck will sell three more items, including 500 autographed pin flags for nearly $1,300.

Nike declined to comment on reports by celebrity gossip site TMZ.com that the company has already filmed a new commercial featuring Woods, the face of its golfing line. So did Wieden & Kennedy, an advertising firm that frequently works with Nike.

Woods has always brought viewers in droves. But his return, broadcast on CBS and ESPN, is likely to be off the charts. In 1997, Woods’ first Masters win, Nielsen estimates 14.1 percent of all households tuned in, still the most-watched golf telecast since at least 1977.

But if Woods makes it past Thursday and Friday’s rounds into the weekend, it’s likely those ratings will shatter that record, said Neal Pilson, a former president of CBS Sports and now a consultant with Pilson Communications. He said the ratings could go as high as 18 to 20 percent of all households watching TV. Last year’s Masters had an 8.3 percent share in the final round, getting about 14.3 million viewers. That’s a fraction of, say, the Super Bowl’s 106 million viewers, but it’s golf’s most-watched event, according to Nielsen.

It’s not clear if the heightened interest will help reverse golf’s recession-fueled downturn. Probably not, said John Sweeney, director of sports communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

"He’ll bring more eyes back to the sport," he said. "He will not bring the sort of wonderful image that he brought that created a lot of people going, ‘I want to play golf’ back. He’s bringing back the sort of tainted prodigy that he is. But it’ll be fun to watch."

-- Emily Fredrix

Tiger’s return brings extra buzz to Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. — As soon as Tiger Woods threw his Nike cap into the Masters, the rooftop of Donny Thompson’s jewelry store became prime real estate.

TV networks have been pestering Thompson, wanting to rent space atop Windsor Jewelers for its rare camera angle — a clear view over the fence of Augusta National Golf Club to the practice tees where the pros warm up for the tournament.

"They just want to get close and see as much as they can," said Thompson, who decided renting his rooftop wasn’t worth the hassle. "This just started when Tiger was talking about coming back."

Those without access to the tournament itself, including some entertainment shows, tabloid photographers and celebrity bloggers, are looking for a place to land outside the private club’s wrought-iron gates. That’s bringing opportunities and headaches for people in this city.

"It is going to create pandemonium in the media from The New York Times to the ‘Today’ show — they are going to be pouring resources into Augusta," said Harvey Levin, executive producer of TMZ.com, the celebrity news Web site.

Levin declined to discuss his plans for covering the tournament, but said he expects the event will draw interest from many who haven’t followed the sport.

"Golf will never be more popular than at the Masters this year," Levin said.

Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver said he’s already gotten several phone calls from reporters asking about his take on Woods’ return — and not much to do with golf.

"People magazine is not somebody who would normally call to check in with the mayor’s office," Copenhaver said.

Woods, returning to the game months after admitting that he cheated on his wife, couldn’t have picked a better place to try to contain the hoopla.

Augusta National imposes strict limits on tickets and press credentials. The entire course is ringed by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire and smothered by bamboo thickets, posing a barrier to prying eyes on the outside.

Sissy Boulus runs the Double Eagle Club, a private club that provides meals and cocktails for corporate executives and other VIP guests just outside the gates of Augusta National. Boulus said she’s been to the Olympics and the Super Bowl, where she also oversaw hospitality clubs, "and I would say the Masters is more controlled than any of them."

Yet try as they might, tournament officials can’t control what happens outside the gates.

Doug Froham, who owns Jay’s Music & Sound Super Center across the street from Augusta National, said TV networks have called wanting to share his parking lot with his usual renters — vendors selling cigars and sports memorabilia.

Froham said networks have asked about posting cameras on his roof, though it’s not quite tall enough for a good look over Augusta National’s fence.

"Normally we wouldn’t have this media frenzy," Froham said. "Really, what they will see is little or nothing as far as Tiger’s concerned."

The Associated Press has rented property close to Augusta National in order to get a camera angle of the players’ entrance.

Woods has said he’s "a little nervous" about how fans will receive him in Augusta. "It would be nice to hear a couple claps here and there," he said.

Alfred Monsalvatge is concerned some fans might try to heckle Woods outright.

"You get an element that’s not used to the proper decorum, one guy drinks too many beers and says something and BOOM!" said Monsalvatge, owner of TravelMasters, which sells VIP hospitality packages for the tournament.

Monsalvatge, who closely monitors the scalping market in Augusta, says Woods’ comeback spurred a surge in prices — four-day passes that were fetching $1,900 quickly shot as high as $2,600.

But he says many buyers appear to be first-timers more interested in Woods’ personal failings than his tee shots. That could mean repercussions for the original ticket holders who put their tickets on the market.

"I suspect there’s going to be a lot of tickets pulled and patrons not having their privileges next year because of this," Monsalvatge said.

The interest in Woods’ comeback has also injected a fresh spark into many Augusta businesses that seemed headed for another sagging sales year.

Limousine service owner William Murrell hired 32 extra temps to drive high-profile visitors to and from the golf course this year, compared to the skeleton crew of 12 he used in 2009.

"I brought on half of them the week Tiger announced his comeback," Murrell said.

Tanya Brantley, who manages the Red Carpet Inn about seven miles from Augusta National, said only 25 percent of her rooms had been booked for the tournament by early March. Then Woods made his announcement, and the phone started ringing again.

"Reservations have been crazy," said Brantley, who’s inn is nearly 70 percent full now. "Tiger Woods had a whole lot to do with it. People are wanting to see his reaction back on the course after the controversy."

-- Russ Bynum

Tiger impersonators are hurting, too

Herme Chua got booed. Canh Oxelson is no longer getting the best tables at restaurants, and will have to wait longer to pay off those student loans from Harvard.

Think Tiger Woods is having problems? Try being one of his lookalikes.

"A lot of people just don’t want to be associated with Tiger right now," Oxelson said.

For Oxelson and Chua, that means a steady flow of extra cash has dried up. The exposure of Woods’ double life is hitting his doubles right in the wallet.

"I had to turn down a job that would have paid pretty well," said Chua, aka Tiger 2. "It was an adult nightclub that wanted me to go to six cities in six nights. But I’m active in my son’s school and help coach a track team. If the kids ever found out I was helping to promote adult nightclubs, it wouldn’t be appropriate."

Imagine if the real Tiger had such moral reservations. Chua would probably still have some work now.

Instead the Tiger Woods impersonation business is hurting almost as bad as the real Tiger Woods business. For the faux Tigers, Woods’ comeback in the Masters can’t come soon enough.

"I’m rooting for him," said Oxelson, who goes by the monicker Tigersdouble. "Of course I have financial reasons for that."

The life of a Woods lookalike isn’t what it used to be, even in Southern California where Woods was raised and where Oxelson and Chua ply their trade. Before Woods’ sex scandal broke, they could pick up some extra cash by making appearances at anything from birthday parties to golf outings.

It wasn’t terribly difficult work, as long as they dressed the part. And the uniform was always the same — black pants, red shirt and black hat with the Nike swoosh.

Chua was getting 10 to 20 gigs a year, a nice supplement to his day job as a database administrator. He parlayed his look into a small part in the comedy "Parfection," due out later this year, and made a recent appearance on the "Maury" show.

"The audience actually booed me," he said. "That was something new and different. Normally you get a positive reaction but because of the scandal it’s been a lot of negative."

Oxelson knows about that. He had a part lined up in a commercial he believes was for Gatorade and a big convention show in San Diego, but both were called off when the scandal broke.

Meanwhile, the looks he gets while out and about in the Los Angeles area have changed.

"People yell things out at me, like ‘Hey, Tiger, how about all those blondes,"’ Oxelson said. "Sometimes I yell back, ‘Blondes have more fun’ or something like that. It’s all in fun."

Oxelson said he used to get great tables at restaurants because people thought he was Woods. Once he was at a restaurant with friends looking at pictures of himself dressed like Woods when a woman came up with her son thanking him for what he had done for black people and golf.

"I couldn’t say I’m sorry, I’m not Tiger Woods," he said. "She’s not going to believe it, especially with me looking at all the photos dressed like Tiger."

Oxelson, dean of students at a private high school, began his life as a Tiger double about 13 years ago. The idea came after he was at the AT&T tournament at Pebble Beach and people kept asking if they could have their picture taken with him.

"I figured I could pay for my graduate school at Harvard by doing lookalike stuff," he said. "It takes a while to pay off a Harvard education but as long as I kept getting events it was good."

The future is more uncertain, just as it is for the real Tiger. Both Oxelson and Chua say they were shocked and disappointed by the scandal, but are hoping Woods can somehow salvage his reputation down the road.

Oxelson, who once worked with Woods on a commercial, said he still believes resembling the most famous athlete in the world has been worth it, though it can be a little disconcerting at times.

"I go to the mall or something and people look at me even if I’m not dressed like Tiger," he said. "I never know why. Are they looking at me because they think I’m like Tiger Woods or is it maybe because I have a sign that says ‘kick me’ on my back? You never know."

-- Tim Dahlberg