But Tiger hasn’t teed off yet: South African Tim Clark jumped into contention again at the Masters, opening today with a 4-under-par 68 that left him with the clubhouse lead in Augusta, Ga. Kevin Sutherland and England’s Ross Fisher were one-shot back on a perfect day for scoring: warm and sunny with a slight breeze. Clark has been in this position before. He was runner-up to Phil Mickelson in 2006, and held the 36-hole lead the next year.
Greg Norman shot a 2-under 34 on the front side in his first Masters appearance since 2002. Mickelson made the turn with a 35, as did Padraig Harrington, going for his third straight major title. He closed 2008 by winning the British Open and PGA Championship, both victories coming while Tiger Woods was recovering from knee surgery.
The world’s No. 1 player is back on the course, looking to build on a win at Bay Hill two weeks ago and playing in his first major since he hobbled to an improbable playoff victory at the U.S. Open last June. Woods had an afternoon tee time, also hoping to take advantage of pristine conditions—a striking contrast to the foul weather that hurt scoring at Augusta National the last two years.
Pitcher dies after first start of the season: Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two other people were killed today by a suspected drunk driver just hours after the rookie made his first start of the season. The Angels postponed tonight’s game with Oakland, and players planned to gather to remember their teammate, manager Mike Scioscia says. The 22-year-old Adenhart was a passenger in a silver Mitsubishi Eclipse that was broadsided in an intersection about 12:30 a.m. by a minivan that apparently ran a red light, police said. The impact spun around both vehicles, and one then struck another car but that driver was not hurt, police said.
The minivan driver fled the crash scene on foot and was captured a half-hour later. Police identified him as Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, of Riverside, Calif., and said he had a suspended license because of a previous drunken driving conviction. Preliminary results indicated Gallo’s blood-alcohol level was above the legal limit, police Lt. Kevin Hamilton said.
