Els storms back to share lead after first-round failings

Ernie Els had responded to his worst round of the year by moving into a tie for the lead when a thunderstorm interrupted play early in the second round of the Bay Hill Invitational yesterday. Overnight rain had already softened the course for all but, after an opening 74, Els was the player to take most advantage as he recorded birdies on the first four holes.

Conditions were very different from Thursday afternoon when a hot wind dried out the greens. It was only the second time this year that Els had been over par, but it left the South African just five off the first-round lead, shared by a group of six players on 69 including Aaron Baddeley and Trevor Immelman. Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo were among those perfectly content with their rounds of 70.

Els had been nicely placed at one under when he arrived at the par-three 14th. Finding a greenside bunker off the tee, he failed to make the green with his recovery, chipped to three feet and then three-putted for a triple-bogey six.

It was most un-Els-like and the finish to his round continued to be scruffy. At the 18th, his second shot, flirting with the water, hit the rocks on the edge of the lake and bounced over the green into a bunker. "I made a four so I got away with something there, but it sums up the round," he said. Only 19 players out of a field of 121 broke par. "That says quite a lot," added the South African. "It was probably the toughest course I've played all year."

With a potential showdown with Woods, the three-time winner of the event, much anticipated for the weekend, an Els recovery was what everyone wanted yesterday morning. He did not disappoint, though his round started with a significant stroke of fortune as he holed from 50 feet across the 10th green for an opening birdie.

He fired a birdie on the next by hitting his approach to eight feet and then got up and down from a bunker at the par-five 12th. Another fine approach shot followed at the 13th and he holed a 10-footer for the fourth birdie in a row.

There was a scare at the par-five 16th when Els drove into the trees on the right. In trying to thread his way out through the woodwork, he ended up smashing the ball into the slope in front of him. The ball shot straight up in the air and rattled around the branches. From his new position he at least had a view of the green and, taking an extra club and swinging even more smoothly than usually, he easily carried the pond in front of the green, a distance of 173 yards. He finished just off the back and chipped delicately for a tap-in par.

Els also got up and down at the 17th before adding another birdie at the third, where he holed from 25 feet to join a large group in the lead at three under par. He had completed 13 holes when play was suspended just before a storm broke over the course.

His countryman, Immelman, who won twice at home at the start of the year, including the South African Open on the European Tour, had taken the outright lead with a couple of early birdies. But after a bogey at the 16th he took a quadruple-bogey eight at the 18th. His second shot hit the rocks and bounced back into the water, while his fourth landed on the green, but spun back into the rocks. The 23-year-old took another drop and three more to get down from the edge of the green.

Arnold Palmer, the tournament's host, who made a late decision to play for one last time, was 25 over par after 10 holes of the second round, with Jack Nicklaus a slightly more respectable 12 over after 11.

Justin Rose, after an opening 75, made a solid start to his second round with five pars and then a birdie, but three bogeys in a row to finish the front nine left him with work to do to make the cut. Darren Clarke threw away the good work of two birdies with a double bogey at the par-five sixth to be two over after 11 holes.

Bay Hill Invitional (Orlando) Leading first-round scores (US unless stated):

69 A Baddeley (Aus), S Cink, T Immelman (SA) J Kaye, J L Lewis, J Maggert. 70 B Crane, M Dawson, N Faldo (GB), B Faxon, R Gamez, T Woods. 71 J Daly, L Donald (GB), D Gossett, M Kuchar, P Lonard (Aus), L Mattiace, S Verplank. 72 B Andrade, N Fasth (Swe), S Flesch, D Forsman, M O'Meara, R Pampling (Aus), K Perry, E Romero (Arg), D Waldorf, L Westwood (GB). 73 S Ames (Trin), B Burns, A Cejka (Ger), M Gogel, J Huston, S Leaney (Aus), S Lowery, S Micheel, A Miller, T Petrovic, K Triplett, T Tryon. 74 S Appleby (Aus), D Clarke (GB), Ernie Els (SA), M Hulbert, P Jacobsen, B Jobe, S Kendall, L Mize, G Ogilvy (Aus), J Parnevik (Swe), D Peoples, P Perez, J Sindelar, H Slocum, C Smith.