South African Rory Sabbatini was typically bullish after firing a flawless 63 to lead the Barclays Classic after the first round in New York yesterday.
Sabbatini, branded as "brash" on the PGA Tour and who once said
Tiger Woods looked "beatable" before being beaten by the world
number one, said he saw no reason to doubt himself.
"I think I started being confident when I was about four,"
the 31-year-old Sabbatini told reporters. "That was actually a lot
worse. I've kind of toned it down."
The South African, who refined his game at the University of
Arizona, said one of the keys to his bogey-free opening round of
eight under par was the patience he showed after missing fairways
on the 11th and 12th.
"I had two pretty good opportunities out there to make mental
errors," he said. "I put myself in bad positions.
"Both times I pulled a two-iron out of the bag or the hybrid
thinking, 'maybe I can whack it up on the green' and both times I
put it back in the bag and pitched out.
"I just had to kind of swallow the pride there and go back to
playing a little defensive golf. That's definitely something that
is hard for me to do, because I want to be an aggressive golfer."
Sabbatini led K.J. Choi of South Korea and American Rich Beem
by one stroke. A group of four were another shot back on 65 -
including his compatriot Ernie Els.
Els said he competed against Sabbatini's older brother, Gary,
in junior competitions in South Africa.
"I've known the (Sabbatini) family most of his life," Els
said. "They are a confident group of people. They were up for the
fight, so to speak. Always."
Sabbatini recalled an early encounter with Els.
"I met him for the first time when he was 18," said
Sabbatini. "I went up to him and introduced myself and he goes,
'Now you can tell everybody else you met Ernie.' Maybe it's just a
South African thing."
Padraig Harrington opened with a level par 71 to find himself mid table in a tie for 64th in the first of a four-week run to the conclusion of the FedEx Cup race.
