2007年VOA标准英语-Five Golfers Crowd Lead Position in AT&T Tourne

By Parke Brewer²
Bethesda, Maryland
06 July 2007

The inaugural³ AT&T National golf tournament hosted by Tiger Woods got under way Thursday outside Washington in Bethesda, Maryland. VOA Sports Editor Parke Brewer reports from Congressional Country Club that a crowded leader board does not include the world's top ranked player.

Five golfers share the lead at four-under-par¹ 66 after the first round - world number three Jim Furyk, his fellow-American Joe Ogilvie, sixth ranked Vijay Singh of Fiji, Australian Stuart Appleby and South Koeran K.J. Choi.

Jim Furyk

Furyk said the rain that came early in his round softened⁴ the course and helped him get off to a good start.

"I probably only missed a fairway or two. I kept the ball in front of me," he said. "I had a lot of opportunities with irons, and I was able to hit a few good iron shots and knock in some putts and really played a solid round of golf."

There are seven golfers tied for second place at three-under par 67, only one shot off the lead. They include 51-year-old American Fred Funk.

World number one Tiger Woods, the host of this event, shot a three over par 73 and is tied for 77th place.

This is an invitational tournament with only 120 golfers, compared to most PGA Tour events that have fields of 156. And Tiger will likely need a better round Friday to make the halfway⁵ cut which will include the top 70 golfers, plus ties.

This new tournament is being played at Congressional Country Club, about a 30-minute drive from downtown Washington. It hosted the U.S. Open in 1997 and will host it again in 2011. It's a course most of the golfers love, and co-leader Joe Ogilvie said it was an easy decision to come play in this event.

"When Tiger hosts a tournament, if becomes pretty much a no-brainer for anyone - certainly anyone that's American," he said. "The Europeans have a big tournament over there this week [The Smurfit Kappa European Open at the K Club in Kildare, Ireland]. But, you know, Tiger's a pretty powerful guy."

But Tiger Woods is not the only top golfer who is in danger of missing⁶ the cut. So is his fellow-American and world number-two Phil Mickelson, who shot a four over par 74. He's tied for 93rd place.

1 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

2 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

3 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

4 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

5 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

6 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。