Sharp-shooter Boo leads PGA, Scott in the hunt

BY BRENDAN JAMES AT RACV ROYAL PINES RESORT, GOLD COAST

BOO Weekley is a crack shot. And, as he proved in the opening round of the Australian PGA Championship, it doesn’t matter if it's with a golf club or a rifle.

He can fell a deer with a single shot from about 500 yards, or if he’s shooting dove he’s a 90 percent chance of hitting it over the same distance.

Boo Weekley hits his tee shot on the 10th hole during the opening round. PHOTO: Getty Images.

“I'm pretty good,” he laughs. “I can shoot something up to 500, 600 yards or I can shoot at five feet. It all depends. It all depends on what we're shooting.”

During the first round of the PGA he was shooting birds of a different feather.

The 41-year-old American carded five birdies and an eagle for a six under 66 around the RACV Royal Pines Resort course to lead the championship by two strokes from a long list of closer pursuers including defending champion Adam Scott.

Adam Scott reacts to missing a putt on the 17th green during the first round. PHOTO: Getty Images

Scott, Kiwi David Smail, Tasmania’s Craig Hancock, South Australian Wade Ormsby and Victorian rookie pro James Marchesani all played in the morning and finished at four under.

Lightning and rain suspended first round play at 2pm but players were back out on course at 4.45pm. They played for just on an hour before tournament officials suspended play again as a second cell of storms swept in from the west.

During that 60-minute period, Melbourne-based Korean Jin Jeong rattled off three consecutive birdies to move to four under through 12 holes. South Australian Tom Bond, who finished runner-up in the Queensland Open back in August, birdied four out of his last five holes to make the turn at four under.

Those golfers still out on the course will return to their balls at 5.30am (Queensland time) to finish the first round.

Weekley, who is playing this third Australian event in a month, said he felt like he has been on the verge of a great round for weeks.

“It felt like it all came together today,” Weekley said. “The first week (at the Australian Masters) I didn't make no putts, hit it pretty solid, just didn't make no putts.

“The next week (at the Australian Open) made some putts but to me didn't hit my irons as well, you know what I mean?

“Today it was kind of like they both came together. I made the putts and hit the irons pretty good.”

In fact, he was deadly accurate with his irons. At the par-4 17^th hole, the Floridian’s eighth hole of the day, he holed his 146-yard approach for eagle to move to four under for the day.

“I was kind of in between clubs and I just figured I had a breeze a little bit into us and so I took an 8-iron and choked it down a little bit,” he said. “As soon as I got it up in the air, got flying towards it and I was like get right, be right and then one hop and it went in the hole.”

Scott was on track to close in on Weekley late in his round and made an aggressive play at the short par-4 8^th hole. The World No.2 felt the reward was worth the risk in taking driver to get his tee shot on the green, but he tugged it left into a lake and finished the hole with a bogey. He reclaimed that dropped shot with a birdie at his final hole to sign for a four under 68.

When asked if he would make a similar play on the 308-metre hole during the rest of the championship, Weekley laughingly replied: “I don't hit it far enough to go for it, they'd have to move it up to the ladies tee.”

During the past month, Weekley has endeared himself to Australian golf fans with his honesty and down-to-earth nature. He plays with a smile and when he talks his southern drawl is laid back and friendly. He doesn’t even care if he wins or not this week … golf is work, but it’s good work.

“If I win I win, if I don't, I don't but my goal was to come over here and every event I played in was to just to top 20,” he said.

Players and caddies wait for play to restart after play was suspended due to bad weather. PHOTO: Getty Images

“It's just work,” he laughed. “You get through partying for three or four days on vacation or whatever with your family and then the next day's Monday and you've got to go back to work.  It's just another day, another day at the office.

“Think about it, I could be doing something worse [laughs] besides playing golf. I've done that. I worked at the plant (he cleaned ammonia tanks at a chemical plant) for three years and I know what manual labour is.

“Every day I might not have my best game but at least every day I'm thankful that I'm able to play this game and play at the level I play it.”

If he keeps playing at the level he showed on day one of the Australian PGA he’ll do better than a top-20, he’ll head home on Monday morning with the Joe Kirkwood Trophy. And how will he celebrate? He’s going hunting, which gives him more pleasure than golf because “I like smelling gunpowder.”

“I got a hunting trip lined up as soon as I get back home, so it's (this week) kinda cutting in on my hunting,” he laughed.

“We're going to hunt some deer but we're going start off at my house. I got one around the house I want to shoot first.

“When I leave here my golf clubs won't come out of the backpack that it's in till probably three to five days before I go to Hawaii.”

LEADING SCORES

1. Boo Weekley (US)        66

T2. David Smail (NZ)          68

T2. Adam Scott (Qld)        68

T2. Wade Orsmby (SA)   68

T2. James Marchesani (Vic)            68

T2. Craig Hancock (Tas)  68

T2. Jin Jeong (Kor)            68 (12)

T2. Tom Bond (SA)           68 (9)

* For the full leaderboard, click here