 Feeling lousy with a fever and what may have been strep throat, Adam Scott kept his mind off his woes by chatting with countryman and pal Geoff Ogilvy about Aussie rules footie as they made their way around the Tournament Course at Redstone Golf Club. Oh, and he shot a course-record 63 in defense of his Shell Houston Open title.
And before long, the name of the tournament may be changed to the Aussie Rules Shell Houston Open.
For all that, the day did not end with Scott alone on the lead. Johnson Wagner, who shot 64 a year ago to tie Bubba Watson for the course record, was hale and hearty and in no mood to surrender without a fight. He shouldered his way through a stiff afternoon wind to notch a nine-under 63 of his own with an eagle-birdie finish.
Scott, ranked No. 5 in the world, may be on his way to the No. 1 spot among tournament sponsors’ favorite players. Suffering with his illness all week, he blocked out thoughts of pulling out. “I just don’t like withdrawing from tournaments,” he said. “I’ve only done it once in my career, I believe, and I was pretty bad that day.”
He hammered home a 55-foot putt for birdie on his first hole and poured in five more before the turn, none longer than 10 feet. Teeing off shortly before 8 a.m., he got eight holes in before the wind kicked up but was still able to shave three more shots off par on his second nine, the front side.
It didn’t escape his notice that with his first wave of the flat stick he had made two consecutive putts covering 103 feet. A 48-footer on No. 18 sacked up the 2007 title in a duel with another countryman, two-time SHO champion Stuart Appleby.
Their record rounds left Scott and Wagner two shots clear of Charley Hoffman and three in front of the man immediately ahead of Scott in the world ranking, Steve Stricker. Ogilvy, Briny Baird and Dean Wilson trailed by another, along with Steve Elkington, another Aussie but a longtime resident of Houston.
Just don’t ask Scott to explain how a guy, who should be home in bed with a hot water bottle on his head, hits 17 greens and undresses a challenging golf course on a windy day. “I really don’t know,” said the patient. "I’m really confident on this golf course; a lot of shots fit my eye. I guess I’d like to stay like this for about another two weeks. Maybe I shouldn’t get the antibiotics.”
Another two weeks would get him through the Masters, of course, and many others in the field had Georgia on their mind as well. Tournament Director Steve Timms coaxed five of the world’s top 10 (six counting Ernie Els, forced out at the last minute by illness) into the field with the promise of a first-rate tune-up for Augusta next week. Redstone didn’t disappoint.
“The course conditions here are the best we’ve seen probably since we played here last year,” said Stricker, celebrating his 66.
And Scott wasn’t the only one to find a tonic at Redstone. Wagner was healthy enough in body, but his game had looked rather puny in 2008 until he rolled into Redstone. He had missed six consecutive cuts. But shucks, he said, last year he missed 13 of 14 and still kept his playing privileges. This is a fellow who’s at home on the roller coaster. In Houston a year ago, he shot 66-75-64-73 and finished in a tie for ninth.
“The fairways are the best I think I’ve ever played,” he said. “The greens are the best I think I’ve ever played. If you can put it in the fairway and give yourself a look from 15, even 20 feet, I felt like I had a great chance to make everything I looked at.”
Phil Mickelson, No. 2 in the world, played his first competitive round on the course and finished with a double bogey for 72.
| 
