Jan 17, 2003 5 min read

HONOLULU (AP) – Retief Goosen went from steady to spectacular with one shot, a 3-iron into 12 feet for an eagle on the 18th hole that gave him a 6-under 64 and a two-stroke lead Thursday in the Sony Open. Ernie Els, coming off a record score in relation to par (31 under) and an eight-stroke victory at Kapalua, was in a large group at 66 among the early starters.

It took him a while to realize it was a good score.

“I can’t get last week out of mind totally,” Els said.

Indeed, for the 25 players who started their season last week in the winners-only Mercedes Championships, some adjustments were in order.

Goosen watched the palm fronds waving in the ocean breeze as he tried to gauge the strength and direction of the wind. That was rarely an issue last week, when there was hardly any wind over four days.

There are only two par 5s at the par-70 Waialae Country Club, which features tight landing areas and small greens. That’s a big change from the par-73 Plantation Course with its spacious fairways and massive greens.

“Par is a good score, and a bogey doesn’t kill you,” Charles Howell III said after opening with a 70. “Last week, a bogey felt like a triple bogey.”

Blame that on the wind, the best defense at Kapalua. It began to kick up just north of Waikiki Beach, and it made players work for their scores.

Goosen was steady throughout the round, plodding along with pars except for a few spurts that made all the difference – birdie putts of 10 and 12 feet on Nos. 6 and 7, a two-putt birdie on the ninth, and then the great finish.

“Just a soft 3-iron,” he said of his 248-yard approach to the 551-yard closing hole. The ball landed just as softly, about 12 feet from the cup that took him from a large pack at 66 to the outright lead.

Defending champion Jerry Kelly, Vijay Singh and Sergio Garcia were among those who teed off in the afternoon.

“It’s definitely a tougher course because last week the wind didn’t blow,” Goosen said. “When it blows around here, it’s a tricky course. The greens are small, and I understand the rough is probably as thick as it’s been.”

It was especially difficult for Els, at least in his head.

Just four days ago, he finished off a record performance that included 28 birdies and four eagles. Through five holes, Els was at 2 over and must have felt like he was a sure bet to miss the cut.

“I had to find my bearings again,” Els said. “It was a tough mental battle, but once I got over that, I thought about playing my game. It was a good round to establish a good score and get stuck into the week.”

The Big Easy recovered quickly.

After catching a flyer lie in the rough on No. 5 for bogey to go 2 over, he answered with three straight birdies inside 10 feet, then an eagle on par-5 ninth to briefly share the lead.

One thing hasn’t changed – Els is still swinging nicely and crushing his driver.

His eagle on the par-5 ninth hole was set up by a 336-yard drive that left him only an 8-iron for his second shot. He also hit an 8-iron into the 18th hole for a two-putt birdie.

“It’s a lot more difficult to score on this golf course with a lot of par 4s and par 3s,” Els said. “We don’t normally kill those holes; we normally kill the par 5s.”

The first full-field event on the PGA Tour also produced logjams.

Six others were tied with Els at 66, including Shigeki Maruyama, Chris Smith and 21-year-old Aaron Baddeley.

If the name sounds familiar, it should.

Baddeley was a rising star when he won the Australian Open as an 18-year-old amateur, holding off Colin Montgomerie and Greg Norman. He repeated the next year, and had big plans for the PGA Tour.

But the young Aussie couldn’t make it out of Q-school, and spent last year on the Buy.com Tour learning about life on tour and making friends along the way.

This was his first PGA Tour event as a member, and the first one he played without having to rely on a sponsor’s exemption.

“I’ve been through a fair bit,” Baddeley said. “My game is at a point where I feel like I’m ready. I feel like I’ve paid my dues.” Divots:@ Carlos Franco had a tough start to his year. He was fishing in Paraguay last week when another boat almost hit his. Franco reached out push the boat out of the way, and sliced open the inside of his left hand on a screw. “Today is the first day I play – 71. Not bad,” he said with a shrug. … Shigeki Maruyama decided against surgery on his left shoulder, and says it’s getting better. It doesn’t hurt when he swings a club, only when he tosses the ball overhand to his caddie. “Or when I get annoyed,” Maruyama said as he mocked slamming a club into the ground.”