Daly steals the limelight from Woods

If a flawless opening round could be expected from Tiger Woods, more of a surprise was John Daly sharing the lead with the world No 1 in the first round of the Bay Hill Invitational. Woods, in his quest to win the tournament for a third successive year, did not drop a shot in his five-under-par 67.

Daly, predictably, was not quite so consistent, but straight, powerful driving was suited to Arnold Palmer's course. As well as Daly, the big-hitting Angel Cabrera was also among those tied with Woods, while Sergio Garcia had a 68. Ernie Els, a winner for the last two weeks, scored a 70.

Daly lived up to his "Wild Thing" image here in 1998 when he took an 18 at the par-five sixth hole. But the former Open and USPGA champion is a different man these days and on Monday secured a place at next month's Masters by virtue of being in the world's top 50. Only 21 months ago, he languished outside the top 500.

Winning the BMW International in Munich last September was part of the rehabilitation and he can be considered a contender again, especially at the revamped Augusta. Greg Norman, who played with Daly yesterday, made that point to the American. "As good as John is driving the ball, and his driving was exceptionally long and straight, he's got to feel good about going back to Augusta," Norman said. "It will be right up his alley." Daly, for his part, wanted to hear about Norman's new boat. "It's 23,000 square feet," Daly said. "That's twice the size of my house. I've got to see it."

On Wednesday, Daly's two-year-old stepson had been more concerned about meeting a hero at Disney World. "He was dying to see Mickey Mouse but we couldn't find him anywhere. Nine of us go, we pay $381 [£268], where the hell is Mickey?"

It needed little imagination to look at the leaderboard here yesterday and think something similar might be seen at Augusta. There are few similarities between the home of the Masters and a residential development course in Florida, but both reward the same type of golf.

Augusta is about to unveil its latest changes, the most significant for some time, that will require the players to drive the ball long and straight. Bay Hill has always had the length but the greens have been relaid over the last year and are firmer.

That alteration has more impact on driving than putting for the simple reason that holding the green with an approach is far easier from the fairway and with as short an iron in your hands as possible. "It is always more of a challenge when the greens are firmer," Woods said. "I have got to keep driving the ball well. I did that today and, when I made a mistake, my short game helped me out. It's always nice to come back to a venue where you have had success. It gives you good vibes."

With Daly in the group immediately behind Woods, for once the gallery did not rush to the next hole as soon as Tiger was done. Daly has never finished in the top 20 here. "I'm still learning the course," he said. "I have always loved coming here for Arnie but never played well. It's nice finally to have a decent round."

While Cabrera got to seven under before bogeying his last two holes, Woods birdied four of the first six and then almost stuck before his third birdie at a par five, at the 16th. At the same hole, Daly hit a six-iron to 12 feet for an eagle to make up for a couple of dropped shots at the 13th and 14th holes.

BAY HILL INVITATIONAL (Orlando, Florida) Leading early first-round scores (US unless stated): 67 T Woods, A Cabrera (Arg), J Huston, J Daly, D A Weibring. 68 S Cink, R Pampling (Aus), K Yokoo (Japan). 69 P-U Johansson (Swe), R Allenby (Aus), S Ames (Trin), P Azinger, R Mediate, S McCarron, C Strange. 70 E Els (SA).

* Colin Montgomerie hit a four-under-par 68 in yesterday's first round of the Qatar Masters which left him just two shots off the lead. Montgomerie was outscored by his playing partner Adam Scott, of Australia, who had a 67, two shots off the pace set by the Swedish duo, Klas Eriksson and Joakim Haeggman. Scott was joined in third place by Soren Hansen, of Denmark, and Britain's Ian Garbutt.