All eyes are on Woods

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- With celebrity comes a need for protection, so there are a lot of security-type personnel keeping a watchful eye on Tiger Woods as he makes his way around a golf course.

Asked if he notices when he's playing, Woods said he's aware.

''Yeah, you see it because they're getting in the way when you're trying to hit a shot and they're moving,'' Woods said Thursday after his 3-under-par 68 left him four strokes behind first-round leader J.P. Hayes in the Nissan Open.

''But that's just a problem with having more people inside the gallery ropes (on the same side as the players). When you get more people, more media, more officials, more marshals, they tend to get in the way sometimes. They mean well and they're just trying to help us out, but sometimes they're moving at the wrong time.''

Woods, who had won six PGA Tour events in a row but finished in a tie for second behind Phil Mickelson at Torrey Pines last weekend, has become a super celebrity. David Duval said Woods' fame has transcended his sport, much the same as Michael Jordan's did.

A large throng of fans followed Woods' threesome, which included Hal Sutton and Steve Pate, around Riviera Country Club during the opening round.

Woods said most of the fans were well-behaved ''except for the few who want to be rowdy just to be rowdy.''

''You can see some of them already tipping back their beverages of choice, so it's going to get louder as the weekend comes along,'' he said.

While Woods was satisfied with his first round at Riviera, Hayes was thrilled with his.

After beginning with an eagle 3 on the first hole, Hayes birdied No. 2 to jump-start his round of 64.

''I hit a lot of good iron shots, hit 16 greens, putted pretty well, hit a lot of fairways. I guess I just played well,'' said Hayes, whose only tour victory came in the 1998 Buick Classic.

Europeans tied for lead at Kapolei

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) -- It didn't matter to Joanne Morley that she tied the single-round Hawaiian Ladies Open record with a 7-under 65, or that she pulled into a tie for the lead.

''The next round is all that matters now,'' said Morley, who with Sophie Gustafson, holds a 1-shot edge over Annika Sorenstam and Mi Hyun Kim entering today's second round at Kapolei Golf Course.

Betsy King, Brandie Burton and Kris Tschetter were among the group at 5-under 67, while former Hawaiian Ladies Open winners Barb Thomas-Whitehead (1995) and Sherri Turner (1989) were in a group at 68.

Morley, from Britain, and Gustafson, from Sweden, scored their best-ever rounds and tied the tournament record for a low round that was shared by 1998 champ Wendy Ward and two others.

Morley eagled the first and 17th holes at Kapolei Golf Course, and added four birdies to negate a bogey on No. 12. On 17, she hit a wedge into the hole after coming up about 15 feet short of the green.

''I really was just thinking about getting the ball up and down for birdie,'' Morley said. ''It's just good luck when it goes in.''

Morley started the day strong, getting an eagle on the first hole when she hit a sand wedge from 57 yards. She made a 15-foot putt for a birdie on No. 4, two-putted from eight feet for a birdie on 7 and made five pars before three-putting for a bogey on the par-4 13th.

Gustafson didn't show signs from her layoff of several months.

''I haven't played that much golf lately, so I guess I'm a little surprised,'' she said. ''The putts make all the difference, don't they?''

Gustafson had an eagle and six birdies against one bogey. She made a 36-foot putt for eagle on No. 17 and also birdied No. 8 with a 24-foot putt.

She also missed three birdie putts, including an 8-footer on her last hole.

''I guess I could have gone lower, but I am really happy with a 65,'' Gustafson said.

Kim bogeyed her last hole to drop out of a tie for the lead.

''I'm satisfied with my score, but I had many chances to make birdies and just couldn't,'' Kim said.

Starting on the back nine, Gustafson birdied the first two holes, bogeyed No. 13 and birdied No. 15 before an eagle on the par-5 17th to put her at 4-under.

She moved 5-under with a birdie on No. 1, then made five straight pars before birdies at Nos. 7 and 8.

Gustafson, whose best finish as a pro was second in the 1998 Women's British Open, said her round has her on the road to her first victory.

''It gives me confidence because I know my game is here this week,'' she said, especially since she has had problems transferring her success in Europe to the LPGA Tour.

''It would be fun to start playing as well here as I have in Europe. That would give me a lot of confidence.''

Sorenstam, who had a hole-in-one during the pro-am on Wednesday, had six birdies Thursday and was confident her strong play would continue.

''When things go your way, you get fired up,'' Sorenstam said. ''You can hit a bad shot and know things are going to be OK. A little luck and little confidence is a good recipe right now.''