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Friday, September 21, 2001
Price putts way into first
Golfer takes one-stroke edge after one round at Pennsylvania
By Doug Ferguson
Associated Press
LIGONIER, Pa. - Nick Price put his mind back on golf Thursday and looked like the guy who dominated the PGA Tour in the days before Tiger Woods.
   Price made three birdie putts of at least 25 feet on the soft greens of Laurel Valley and finished with a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead in the rain-delayed first round of the Pennsylvania Classic.
   Per-Ulrik Johansson overcame a double bogey to shoot a 67, while Charles Howell III was another stroke back.
   Only half the field completed their rounds because of rains that suspended play for more than four hours and caused the PGA Tour to scrap plans to halt play at noon for seven minutes of ceremony and remembrance of last week's tragedy.
   Some players got in only three holes before play was suspended by darkness, meaning the second round will not be completed until Saturday morning. Of the late starters, Robert Gamez was 3 under through 11 holes.
   The focus was on the PGA Tour resuming play - and Price taking another step toward returning to the form that brought him three majors and 12 victories during the mid-1990s.
   "When you get to be 44, there's not much to look forward to in golf except the senior tour," Price said. "But I'm looking forward to playing now."
   Most players were happy to be on the golf course, a chance to temporarily get their minds off of terrorist attacks that have caused so much shock, anger and uncertainty.
   There were reminders all over Laurel Valley Golf Club, located about 15 miles from where one of the hijacked airliners plowed into a field.
   American flags were attached to every pin and inserted into markers on the tee box. Tournament officials asked players and caddies to wear lapel pins of the Stars & Stripes, and reminded caddies not to put the flagsticks on the ground because of the flag.
   The rain delay didn't help.
   "In the locker room, we are all watching the TV," Price said. "Once we get on the golf course, I think most of us forget about it because we're professional enough to do it. But when you walk off the golf course, you're watching what's going on."
   The tour had planned to blow sirens at noon to stop play for a moment of reflection and a few words from Arnold Palmer. With the heavy rains that lasted nearly two hours, that tribute was canceled, and not many players understood why.
   "I don't know why they didn't do it, unless the reason for doing it was for everyone to see you doing it," Paul Azinger said after his 2-under 70. "I think the tour is a self-promoting machine."
   The only siren that sounded was to suspend play because of the rain, and it softened the greens so much that Howell said his sand wedge before the delay bounced harder than a 4-iron did after play resumed.
   "It allowed you to be a little more aggressive," Price said.
   He took advantage better than anyone, with birdies on eight of the first 14 holes to build a four-stroke lead. Only two of his birdie putts were inside 10 feet, and when Price rolled in a 35-footer on No. 14, he let out a low whistle to recognize that everything seemed to be going his way.
   It didn't last. He three-putted from about 80 feet off the fringe on the next hole, then left a 30-foot birdie putt about 3 feet short and missed that one to take another bogey.
   Still, it was his lowest score below par this year on the PGA Tour.
   Price attributed the turnaround in his putting to some videotapes of his prime, such as victories in the 1994 British Open. He noticed that he kept the lower half of his body still, especially the right knee, and has slowly seen some results.
   "If I putt well, I've always felt like I have a chance to win," he said.
   Howell is trying to get into the Tour Championship without having exempt status - only Woods has done that. He needs a strong finish to his season to pick up the additional $400,000 it probably will take to finish equivalent to the top 30 on the money list.
   Mark Calcavecchia, one of six Ryder Cup players in the field, was among those at 69, while John Daly started with birdies on his first three holes before the rain delay but finished at 70.
   Calcavecchia was among the most outspoken of the Ryder Cup players in wanting the matches to be postponed. The Ryder Cup has been moved back to next year.
   Still, he was eager to play again.
   "For the most part, my mind was on golf," Calcavecchia said. "It's nice to be outside and get away from watching TV. We've got to get back to normal. We're all sad, we're all crushed by what happened. But we've got to get back."
   He, too, noticed a subdued gallery in western Pennsylvania that hasn't seen the world's best players since the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont.
   When Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange teed off at 7:30 a.m., there were no fans, no one to clap when he made a 20-foot birdie putt on his second hole.
   More fans came to the course in the afternoon when the sun finally broke through the crowds, but they were relatively quiet.
   "Usually when John Daly is playing in front of you, there's a lot of whooping and hollering," Calcavecchia said. "There wasn't any of that today - which isn't all bad."

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