Because of the August heat in Oklahoma, the bent grass greens at Southern Hills were left soft and moist during the practice rounds to keep them from burning.
By Thursday, they drew complaints for being too slow by players with early tee times. Those opinions changed by late afternoon."They firmed up a lot," said Ernie Els, who teed off at 1:48 p.m. "They watered some greens, and some greens they didn't water. It was sort of a guessing game."
John Daly found out the hard way. He spent all three practice rounds working on his touch on the greens, only to find them much quicker than he anticipated.
"I wish they had been a little quicker yesterday," said Daly, who is six strokes off the lead after shooting a 73.
Despite shooting a 79, Jack Nicklaus summed it up: "If you hit the putts properly, the putts are going to go in," he said.
SPIKING REMARKS: Ian Woosnam was 3-under-par until a three-putt bogey on the par-5 13th hole, which played as the easiest hole in the opening round. He blamed the missed comeback, a 31/2-footer, on spike marks.
"Someone left some terrible spike marks on the greens, and it's the worst spike marks I've ever seen being left by a professional golfer in my life," Woosnam said. "Even the playing partners said it was disgraceful - and I ended up being right behind him."
SHARK TIPS:
A tip from Greg Norman may have helped Woosnam. During a practice round this week, Norman told Woosnam he was standing too far from the ball.
Woosnam figures he moved about 6 inches closer, then practiced from the new distance for about an hour Wednesday. During Thursday's first-round 68, he hit it nicely off the tee.
"I started hitting the ball lower and more powerful," he said. "It feels a little cramped, but after a while it starts to feel good."