Golf

Els shoots a 66 for 1-shot lead in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Ernie Els shot a 6-under 66 Thursday for a one-shot lead after the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic.

Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain and David Howell of England each had 67, with Jarrod Lyle of Australia and Sam Osborne of England at 68.

"A 66 at the end of the day was a good day's work," Els said. "I was happy with the way I played the par-5s because if you don't make fours there you are losing ground against the field."

Els, seeking his first victory of the season, birdied three of the four par-5s.

Nine players, including former champion Thomas Bjorn, were three strokes behind. Colin Montgomerie and Ben Curtis, the 2003 British Open champion, shot 70 and defending champion Mark O'Meara a 73.

Els said he spoke with his sports psychologist during his three-week golf break.

"We get bogged down trying to play the perfect game," the South African said. "But I got back to basics."

Els, with just one finish outside the top 10 in his last 17 starts, is relaxed and ready to attack the course.

"If I see a shot, I am going to hit it," he said. "I saw a lot of drivers today and I stuck to my game plan and went for it."

The 41-year-old Jimenez won five times on the European tour last year. "I am like a good wine, you know, getting better with age," he said.

The tournament featured two holes-in-one in the morning - Kenyan-born Englishman Yasin Ali on the 186-yard seventh and Japan's Nobuhito Sato on the 180-yard 15th.

THAILAND OPEN: Australia's Scott Barr and India's Jeev Milkha Singh shot 7-under 65 to lead after the first round in Phuket.

Yoshinobu Tsukada and Gohei Sato of Japan were both one stroke behind the leaders.

Thailand's Noppajak Meesom was fifth with a 67, while Scotland's Simon Yates, Australia's Scott Strange, and American Greg Hanrahan were three shots off the pace at Blue Canyon Country Club.

A four-time winner in Asia, Singh became the first Indian player to qualify for the U.S. Open in 2002.

"One of my goals is to win this year and to get my U.S. PGA Tour card," said Singh.

[Last modified March 4, 2005, 00:31:15]