Date: August 21, 2009
Author: Sportal and PA Sport

Scott makes positive start

Adam Scott has put his nightmare US PGA Championship behind him to make a bright start at the Wyndham Championship. The Australian, who missed the cut at Hazeltine when he needed 70 putts in two days in rounds of 82 and 79, was two-under through 12 holes before play was suspended due to darkness, leaving him four shots behind clubhouse leaders Ryan Moore, Chez Reavie and Brandt Snedeker, who all carded six-under 64s. Scott, who made a promising start to the year with a second at the Sony Open in Hawaii but has made just three cuts in his last 12 starts, appears to be a different player this week. He was three-under through seven holes before a bogey on the 10th. Veteran Steve Elkington is also still to complete his first round and sits at four-under after 14 holes. Marc Leishman and Aron Price are the leading Australians who have finished their rounds, three-under 67s seeing them in a large group tied for 18th place. Matt Jones is also at three-under with three holes to play. James Nitties (four-over after 15 holes) and Stuart Appleby (five-over after 12) have made disastrous starts to their opening rounds. Moore, 26, completed the front nine in 32 and replicated that effort after the turn with birdies at the 13th, 15th and 17th holes. Reavie had looked on course for a bogey-free round of his own but dropped a shot on the par-four 18th to slip back to six-under. Snedeker&aposs only dropped shot came on the par-four 17th to blight a back nine that had included five birdies. Englishman Justin Rose was a stroke behind the leaders, level with Kevin Streelman and Colt Knost, after he too made light work of the back nine. The 29-year-old had reached the turn in 31 before five birdies helped lift him up the leaderboard. His progress was only stymied by a bogey on the last and left him just adrift of the leaders. Meanwhile, young Aussie Matthew Millar is tied for second place after the first round of the KLM Open in the Netherlands. Millar shot a blistering five-under 63 to be one behind Ireland&aposs Paul McGinley and Scot Gary Orr. Defending champion Darren Clarke and Peter Lawrie are among a group tied with Millar for second. Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie suffered in the afternoon winds, crashing to a six-over 76 that left him near the rear of a field which does not contain a single member of the world&aposs top 50. Double Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, suffering from more rheumatic pains, was two-under with one to go, but double-bogeyed the 418-yard 9th just like Montgomerie did – and just like Welshman Bradley Dredge did after reaching six-under. Play was suspended for an hour late in the day because of a storm and on the resumption Scot Callum Macaulay came in with a 66 to be only two behind.