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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY MARCH 16 2007
PRO GOLF
Tiger Woods ends drought with fierce play at Bay Hill
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORLANDO — Another streak ended for Tiger Woods on Thursday, this one worth celebrating.
He finally broke 70 at Bay Hill.
He finally broke 70 at Bay Hill. Ending a peculiar drought at a tournament he won four straight times, Woods shot 6 under 64 in the Arnold Palmer Invitational for his first sub-70 round in three years to share the lead with Vaughn Taylor and Paul Casey.
Woods played his best golf in nearly six months, giving himself a birdie opportunity on all but one hole. He opened with four birdies in the first six holes, missing putts of 10 and 12 feet on the other two.
"It's definitely the best round of the year," Woods said, pausing for effect. "I haven't played that many rounds."
Even so, he could not remember the last time he hit 17 greens in regulation, especially on a Bay Hill course with ankle-deep rough framing the tight fairways
And while Palmer changed the scorecard to a par 70,it didn't stop Woods or any one else.
Woods won every year from 2000 through 2003, but after opening with a 67 the follow year, he failed
The 64 was the lowest opening round at Bay Hill since Woods shot 64 in 1998. Taylor played bogey-free, picking on two of the toughest holes, including
“It's definitely the best round or the year. I haven't played that many rounds."
TIGER WOODS
Pro Golfer
Casey's only previous trip to Arnie's course was in 2004, when he shot 77 in the first round and withdrew. He also played without a bogey, joining the leaders with an approach into 7 feet for birdie on the 18th.
"Having it played it twice now, I can honestly say I enjoy the golf course." Casey said.
ow year, he failed to break 70 his next 11 rounds and was rarely in contention. He fixed that situation quickly Thursday morning, even as a strong gust kicked up early in his round.
for rape to shoot at least under par on that front nine, and that was all I was concerned about." Woods said.
"I thought it was important
The only green he missed was his only oogey.
After a 3-wood on the 18th his ninth of the round, he was between a 9-iron and a wedge over the water. The ball took aim at the pin, hit about 6 feet short, then spun enough to trickle off the green against the rocks framing the water.
Woods said he could have hit the next shot if it were a practice round or his pro-am, but didn't want to risk a big number.
He took a penalty drop, chipped within a foot and took his lumps. He picked up three more birdies on the back nine, finishing with an approach into 6 feet on the ninth hole.
"I may have left one or two shots out there," he said. "Well, 64 around here is not too bad."
It wasn't that unusual, either.
Sergio Garcia was in the group at 66, while Tampa winner Mark Calcavecchia, Scott Plankl and K.J. Choi were among those at 67.
About the only thing Palmer can do now is pour concrete on the greens.
"The greens were very receptive," Casey said when asked about the good scoring in breezy conditions. "That was key. If you were in the fairway and had the right club in your hand, you could really attack the flag."
One of the par 5s converted to a par 4 was No. 4, which played even shorter from a forward tee at 463 yards. Woods and Garcia wound up hitting 5-wood off the tee and a short iron (8-iron for Woods, 7-iron for Garcia) into the green.
The 16th played into the wind,
but most players kept the ball in the short grass and kept big numbers off their cards. That was the key for getting it around Bay Hill, for Garcia narrowly missed the fairway at the par-5 sixth and could only chop it out with a 6-iron.
year but has struggled this season, especially with his temper. He got so down on himself at Riviera that he even impressed the Hollywood crowd by firing his ball into the side of a hill after a bogey. On Sunday, he was in decent position at Innisbrook until closing with a 77.
"The front nine, I didn't really miss a shot. I pretty much did everything well."
VAUGHN TAYLOR Pro Golfer
"The front nine, I didn't really miss a shot," Taylor said. "I pretty much did everything well."
"I've always struggled with a little bit of bad temper and getting my head down," Taylor said. "This past week was a tough one to swallow. I've tried to keep a good attitude, keep my head up, because I feel like I'm
It came at a good time to tarjon, who made his Rder Cup debut last
pretty close."
>> BUS CRASH
Bluffton coach released from hospital
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — A college baseball coach injured in a bus crash that killed five of his players and injured 28 was released from the hospital Thursday, and said the hardest part was not being able to be with his close knit team to help them grieve.
"It's hard not to be there as their coach," James Grandey said outside the hospital. "I want to help them through the process."
Grandey, the baseball coach at Bluffton University in Ohio, was injured along with 28 players in the March 2 crash on Interstate 75 in Atlanta. Five players, and the bus driver and his wife, were killed.
Grandey, who suffered multiple broken facial bones, said that God brings only situations that people can handle.
"I wonder why I survived ... I don't know. God has a reason," said Grandey, 29, dark bruises under his eyes and his jaw still partially wired shut. "There's a reason for those that didn't survive as well."
Grandey added, "In some way we'll have to find a way to turn this into a positive."
"I wonder why I survived ... I don't know. God has a reason. There's a reason for those that didn't survive as well."
We'll never know that answer until we ourselves pass away!
JAMES GRANDEY Coach
Grandey, who sat in the front seat of the bus, said he remembers nothing of the crash.
"The last thing I remember is turning the DVD player off and laying down to go to sleep." he said. "The next thinn
Investigators said the bus driver apparently mistook the ramp for a regular highway lane, traveling up it at "highway speeds." The bus than crashed into a concrete barrier at a T-intersection at the top of the ramp, flipped off the overpass and fell 30 feet back onto the interstate.
I know I'm sitting in the median,
trying to figure out how we fell"
Tim Berta, a student coach and senior from Ida, Mich., remained in critical condition Thursday at Grady Memorial Hospital, said spokeswoman Denise Simpson. Berta is the only player to remain hospitalized from the crash.
On Wednesday, state road workers began adding safety features, such as signs and reflective stripes, to several commuter lane exits along the interstate in Atlanta, including several underpasses.
the one involved in the bus crash.
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SCANDAL
Barton rebounds from coach fraud trials Firm deems college compliant
WICHITA — In a move to put the athletics scandal behind, Barton County Community College made public Thursday a final regulatory compliance report that gives the embattled Kansas college a clean bill of health for its efforts.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
It also praised the college for "a new attitude" created among its personnel that compliance with National Junior College Athletic Association regulations was a shared responsibility by various departments.
"We think we are a better college for it. We think we have processes in place and a renewed commitment to carry out our responsibilities," said BCCC President Carl R. Heilman.
The compliance review was done by an outside firm. The Compliance Group, hired by the college. It concluded the college had implemented significant changes in its policies and procedures during the past year.
"We are committed to comprehensive measures so what happened never happens again."
"By doing this we are a better college for it, and our students will be better for it."
The charges, which varied among the defendants, included embezzlement, theft and mail fraud in a long-running scheme to use a federal work-study program and campus jobs to get around a conference ban on giving athletes full scholarships.
Student athletes were paid for work they did not do, and the
CARL R. HEILMAN BCCC President
A federal investigation involving financial aid and academic fraud in the athletics department led to the convictions of the athletic director and seven coaches and to the firing of the college's president. Most of the cases were settled last year.
College officials hope the compliance report will boost their chances that the sanctions — which come up for review in April — will end at the end of the academic year.
scheme also involved falsifying academic records so that athletes at BCCC and other universities were eligible to play.
Heilman, who took over the presidency of the college eight months ago, said the actions of a few people cast "a dark shadow" over the entire institution.
In August, all athletic programs at the college except for men's basketball were put on one-year probation by the NJCAA and the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. The men's basketball program already had completed the maximum two-year probation.
A m o n g changes the college has implemented since the scandal broke are new rules prohibiting coaches from supervising work-study students. A new time clock system has been
installed requiring students to log onto a work-study Web site when they begin and end their jobs. Others spot check work sites where athletes are to be working, while the Human Resources Department compares class schedules with hours logged in for those work-study hours.
"I don't know if it will ever be put behind us," Heilman said of the scandal. "We are committed to comprehensive measures so what happened never happens again."
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