Westwood lets lead slip
Calmer conditions did Lee Westwood no favours as first-round play resumed at the Shell Houston Open in Texas.
Westwood held a two-stroke lead over the field at four under par after nine holes at Redstone Golf Club yesterday, when play was halted due to high winds with the Englishman about to putt for birdie from 17 feet at the par-four 10th.
With the winds that reached 45 miles per hour yesterday dropping dramatically to 5-10mph, the 72 players who resumed their rounds this morning found benign conditions on the par-72, 7,457-yard course.
Yet Westwood missed out on his birdie opportunity at the 10th and went on to bogey the par-four 11th after finding a greenside bunker with his second shot, before coming undone again at the par-five 13th.
The Ryder Cup star missed the fairway then overshot the green before chipping back across the putting area and into a frontside bunker.
He could have still salvaged par after splashing out of the sand to six feet but two-putted for bogey to slip to two under, where he remained after 16 holes.
The new co-leaders were Americans Fred Couples and Justin Leonard, both with local connections.
Leonard, a Texan, was three under having played 14 holes after starting on the back nine, while former University of Houston student Couples was on the same mark, the 49-year-old United States Presidents Cup captain for 2009 having played 12 holes from the 10th tee.
Westwood was in an eight-way tie for third place with five Americans, including Ryder Cup rival JB Holmes and Australian duo Jason Nitties and Marc Leishman.
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington resumed at level par after seven holes having started at the 10th tee, and bogeyed his ninth hole, the 18th, before starting the front nine with consecutive birdies to move to one under in a tie for 11th, the group also including Sweden’s Daniel Chopra, who had played 13 holes.
Greg Norman, 54, was holding his own with his younger rivals as he tuned up for his return to the Masters next week for the first time since 2002.
The Australian two-time Open champion joined the group on one under after he birdied the 15th.
Two-time winner this year Phil Mickelson was playing steadier golf but unable to make inroads on his three-over score after 15 holes.
England’s Greg Owen and Luke Donald were among the first players to make it back to the clubhouse to get ready for their second rounds, each having carded a one-over-par 73, while Alvaro Quiros was facing a long day having completed his opening round in an 11-over-par 83.
Quiros’ fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia was among the players still waiting to get their tournaments under way, as was Northern Ireland teenager Rory McIlroy, his compatriot Darren Clarke, Colombia’s Camilo Villegas, Swedish duo Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson and England’s Paul Casey and Justin Rose.
