Football
Will Weiss 23y

Notebook: Tigermania hits New York

HARRISON, N.Y. -- The crowds Tiger Woods draws during his rounds are immense, but how about the crowds for his warm-up sessions?

Approximately one hour before his scheduled 12:40 p.m. ET tee time, Woods reached the putting green to go through his normal regimen, and people poured out from everywhere like the prelude to the dance sequence in Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video.

The lineup was five-deep to get a peek at the world's best player, and quickly took on an air of batting practice. Much of the mass cheered when Woods rolled in a snake and moaned in disbelief when he missed one of any length.

Robert Gamez and Loren Roberts practiced through this spectacle, ho-humming their way through their routines as if nothing was happening.

Both Woods and caddie Steve Williams laughed it off and played to the gallery. By now they're used to this. A relaxed Woods had that look as if he were relieved a fifth consecutive major championship didn't come to fruition in Tulsa, but he's ready to get back to business.

The driving range had a similar Pied Piper atmosphere.

Rain on the brain
It has been a recurring theme on Tour the last several weeks: rain delays.


ABC analyst Ian Baker-Finch:

The key in a rain delay is to have patience. The toughest thing to do in a golf tournament is stop and start again.

A situation like this really hurts a guy like Scott Hoch, not only because he's been affected twice, but he has tendinitis in his wrist. He's used to icing his wrist down after he plays. You can't do that during play, because it will stiffen up.

The guys like Tiger Woods, as well as those who haven't teed off yet, will be focused, although it took a little longer to get there. They have been held back, not knowing when they're going to get started, but getting focused isn't a problem for most of these players.

They know the forecast isn't positive for the next few days, so as I said before, the most important asset here is patience.


The first round of the Buick Classic was no exception, as only 37 of the 156 players in the field completed their rounds, 62 were left on the course and 57 did not get to tee off. The first suspension halted play for 1 hour, 42 minutes and pushed back afternoon tee times by 90 minutes. The second wave was much more severe, delaying play for the entire afternoon and eventually postponing the first round.

The first round will continue starting at 7 a.m. on Friday. They will not play lift, clean and place for the remainder of the round.

"It's going to be tough for me to go back out at 7 a.m. and play one hole. I have a birdie putt on 8 (his 17th hole), but I really only have one hole," said Scott Hoch, who is 4-under through 16 and will line up a 40-foot birdie putt when play resumes. "The best case scenario is that I get done and I won't tee off again until 5 o'clock."

Rain is nothing new to this tournament, however. The event is affectionately known as the "Wetchester Classic" thanks to the soggy conditions, yet with all the rain in the event's history, only once has it been shortened to 54 holes: in 1998 when J.P Hayes won.

"These weather delays have not helped me at all because I can't sit still and do nothing," Hoch said. "I ate lunch twice, ate dinner twice, had a bunch of cookies and read some."

Brad Faxon, Corey Pavin and Justin Leonard finished the day as the leaders in the clubhouse with 2-under 69s.

Woods didn't finish the first hole.

Head inside
The rain did provide some positives -- for the pro shop.

Fans unprepared for the wet and cool weather flocked to the pro shop for both shelter and appropriate attire.

"We did pretty well today in sales of outerwear," said John Kennedy, head professional at Westchester Country Club. "It's unfortunate most of the gallery left after the second rain delay. That hurt us."

Things took another unfortunate turn for the pro shop when it ran out of umbrellas. With rain in the forecast for the next three days, one can be sure the pro shop will be fully stocked.

Get me outta here!
Blaine McCallister was not at all happy when the second rain delay hit. He had tickets to see "The Dinner Party" on Broadway.

Will Weiss is an assistant editor at ABC Sports Online.

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