24th November 2005
Victorian Robert Allenby rediscovered his best form with a scintillating opening round of 63 that saw him wins up the day at the head of the leaderboard from American Spencer Levin who shot an 8 under par 64 and Australian Scott Laycock who was a further shot back at 7 under the card.
Allenby's 9 under par round was littered with birdies as he made the most of benign conditions.
Nursing a mystery hand injury, The 34-year-old said he was mindful of the fact he may not be able to finish the tournament. "I'm just scared because last week with five holes to go on Sunday it completely went. I couldn't hold the golf club and it was the same until Tuesday morning. It has come a long way in a short time." he said.
Defending champion Peter Lonard has some work to do as he chases a third Australian Open title following his two-over 74 in the opening round.
| Game | Odds |
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| Date | Tournament | 2004 Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 27-30 | Chrysler Championship | Vijay Singh |
| Nov 3-6 | The Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola | Retief Goosen |
| Nov 10-13 | Franklin Templeton Shootout | Hank Kuehne/Jeff Sluman |
| Nov 17-20 | WGC World Cup | England |
| Nov 26-27 | Merrill Lynch Skins Game | Fred Couples |
| Rank | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiger Woods | USA |
| 2 | Vijay Singh | FIJ |
| 3 | Phil Mickelson | USA |
| 4 | Retief Goosen | SAf |
| 5 | Ernie Els | SAF |
| 6 | Sergio Garcia | ESP |
| 7 | Jim Furyk | USA |
| 8 | Adam Scott | AUS |
| 9 | Chris DiMarco | USA |
| 10 | David Toms | USA |
Adam Scott is regarded as the most exciting young Australian golfer since Greg Norman. At the age of 23 years, eight months and 12 days, he became the youngest winner of The Players Championship on the US PGA Tour, an event considered by many to be the game's fifth Major.
Scott is a four-time winner on the US PGA Tour. His initial breakthrough came at the 2003 Deutsche Bank Championship after a second round 62 set up a four stroke win and saw Adam break into the top 20 in the World Rankings for the first time.