South African Retief Goosen, helped by a spectacular chip-in for birdie at the 11th, grabbed an early one-shot lead in Thursday's opening round at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. The twice former US Open champion took advantage of calm morning conditions at Firestone Country Club to card a four-under-par 66. Goosen birdied five of the first 11 holes to forge two strokes clear before collecting his only bogey of the day at the par-three 15th where his tee shot ended up in a plugged lie in a greenside bunker. He then parred the last three holes to finish one ahead of compatriot Tim Clark, Fiji's Vijay Singh and Swede Daniel Chopra. Singh, like Goosen, also got to five-under before double-bogeying the last for a 67. American Stewart Cink, the 2004 winner, was among a group of six players bunched on 68 while British Open champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland opened with a 69. Goosen, who won the most recent of his six PGA Tour titles at the 2005 International, picked up shots at the second, fifth and eighth to reach the turn in three-under 32. A superb approach to eight feet set up another birdie at the 10th before he conjured an outrageous three at the par-four 11th after pushing his drive behind a tree in the right rough. From there, the 39-year-old struck a low slice to advance his ball up the fairway, 10 yards short of the green, before chipping in for birdie from 100 feet. Although the smooth-swinging South African stumbled at the short 15th, he was otherwise delighted with his opening round. “My ball striking was a lot better today and I holed a few putts early on,” Goosen told reporters, referring to 30-footers at the fifth and eighth. Goosen has posted just one top-10 finish in 14 appearances on the 2008 PGA Tour but hard work with his swing coach Gregor Jameson this week paved the way for a strong start at Firestone. American world number two Phil Mickelson and fifth-ranked South African Ernie Els were among the late starters in the elite field of 80 vying for the third World Golf Championship title of the year.
