Crowne Plaza Invitational round one: Kim defies the elements

This is not how it was meant to be. For a start Colonial was meant to be playing a lot firmer and faster. Secondly, it certainly wasn’t written in the stars that Anthony Kim would be topping the leaderboard, even if half the first-round players have still to make it home.

Kim is, let’s face it, not the most accurate of drivers - at 64% he’s hit the least number of fairways among the leaders - while the rough at the Colonial is said to be particularly punishing this year. And his amazing recent run of success looked to have well and truly foundered at the Players two weeks ago.

But there he is with a fairly breathtaking six birdies out of six down the finishing stretch. All he’s got to do now is keep it up over the next three days. Or is it four? The weather is currently playing the dominating role in this tournament.

With fears of more disruption, and time still needed to recover the course from Thursday’s deluge, there’s no telling when the first two rounds will be completed. As I write it appears dead calm overnight, but the weathermen say there’s at least a 50% chance of more turbulence.

That can only make a soggy course even soggier and softer once they’ve rid the bunkers of their mini-lakes. It might make the fairways more difficult for the shorter hitters but then the dog-legs even that out somewhat, and the rough can only get worse for the wayward drivers.

“I think you are going to see a big spread from the guys hitting the fairway and guys that are not,” is Ted Purdy’s take. Do me a favour, Ted, and pass that on to Kim will you?

Once players get to the greens, however, they could be in for a feeding frenzy. So maybe there’s more amazing birdie-runs to come. Just wish I knew who would sink them.