Golf

Burton's eagle beats the winds

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 6, 2006

MORELIA, Mexico - Brandie Burton had eagle 2 on the par-4 first hole and finished with 5-under 68 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over Kelli Kuehne and 18-year-old Morgan Pressel in the windy opening round of the Corona Morelia Championship.

Mexican star Lorena Ochoa was three back.

The 34-year-old Burton, who started play on No. 10, birdied Nos. 15, 17 and 18 to reach 2 under, then bounced in her second shot from 96 yards on the 376-yard first.

"It just took a couple of hops and went right in the hole," said Burton, who won the last of her five LPGA Tour victories in 1998. "It definitely got me on my way."

She added birdies on Nos. 5 and 7 but bogeyed the eighth.

"I didn't hit the driver well today, but I kept it in play," she said.

Pressel also opened on the back nine, beginning with an eagle on No. 10. Facing the late-afternoon wind, she had four bogeys but reeled off five straight birdies on Nos. 4 to 8.

Kuehne had five birdies but three-putted from 20 feet for bogey on the par-4 11th. Young-A Yang, Julieta Granada, Alena Sharp, Giulia Sergas, Heather Young and Katie Futcher opened with 70.

Tampa's Beth Bauer shot 2-over 75, and Clearwater's Jennifer Gleason shot 6-over 79.

Natalie Gulbis shot 77, then was disqualified for failing to sign her scorecard, even though she signed Koch's as a witness and was calmly signing autographs after her round.

Pressel said the wind kept her from playing more aggressively.

"Hopefully, in the morning it should be a little calmer so I can go for more pins and make more birdies," she said. "I know they're out there because I really did play poorly in the middle and still managed to shoot 4 under."

Ochoa, 24, has three wins so far this year but has not been a factor in the three LPGA Tour events south of the border since March 2005.

Beginning on the back nine, Ochoa birdied her first hole, then recovered from a bogey on the 13th with birdies on two of her next three holes. She birdied Nos. 1 and 7, but had bogeys on 4 and 5. On the par-4 ninth, she hit a 7-iron approach when an 8-iron would have been better, then two-putted for bogey.

Ochoa is from Guadalajara, 175 miles northwest of Morelia. About 150 friends, family members and fans chanted "Lorena!"

"You like to be good and play good for everybody, and when you don't do as good, it just hurts you because I'm here in my country with my people," said Ochoa, who tied for 16th at the Corona Morelia last year.

Trio share Chrysler lead as field piles up birdies

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Brent Geiberger has been here before - playing in Greensboro and needing a strong weekend to secure his future on the PGA Tour.

It worked out for him two years ago, and he's off to another good start.

Geiberger, John Rollins and Nick Watney shot 8-under 64 to share the first-round lead in the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro.

"It's very similar to where I was in '04, but I feel with the equipment and the way I'm playing right now, I'd love to start out the year right now, because it'd be a completely different story," Geiberger said.

John Senden, Robert Gamez, Mike Sposa, Tag Ridings, James Driscoll and Charley Hoffman were two strokes back, and defending champion K.J. Choi opened with 65.

Scores were low all day at the 7,333-yard Forest Oaks Country Club, where 68 players finished the first round at 3 under or better.

"Sometimes you won't notice a 3 under or something like that out there today, but you have to shoot pretty low to keep up with everybody else," Geiberger said.

Geiberger birdied eight of his final 12 holes in another strong performance at Forest Oaks, the site of his most recent win on the PGA Tour.

He came to Greensboro in 2004 needing a strong performance to finish the season in the top 125 on the money list and secure his full tour card. He wound up winning with an 18-under 270 total, two strokes ahead of Michael Allen.

Geiberger entered this year's tournament ranked 144th on the money list and finished the day with his best opening-round score of the year.

"I feel like I've got something in my bag right now that gives me a chance to win or contend each week," Geiberger said.

Rollins said he spent last weekend with a putting coach to help him rediscover his stroke. For the most part, the results showed.

"The ones that didn't go in were right on the edge or lipping out," said Rollins, who had nine birdies. "It's fun to see it rolling on line."

Nationwide Tour: Kevin Na shot 9-under 62 to lead Jason Allred, Chez Reavie and Bob Heintz by two strokes after the first round of the Mark Christopher Charity Classic in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Na's bogeyfree round included nine birdies.

European PGA: England's Paul Casey shot 9-under 63 at Kingsbarns in St. Andrews, Scotland, to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, strengthening his bid to win the European Order of Merit. Casey, 29, has a $152,000 lead over countryman David Howell, who has a lingering shoulder injury and shot 75 at Kingsbarns.

Champions Tour: Hale Irwin is well-aware that it has been a year since he won the SAS Championship for the last of his Champions Tour-record 44 victories.

"I haven't played very well this year," said Irwin, 61. "I can't point to any specific reason."

Irwin has won at least once every season since joining the Champions Tour in 1995, including four times a year ago. But this season, Irwin's best finish has been a tie for second.

Beginning today, he will be playing the first SAS Championship on the par-72, 7,177-yard course at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, N.C.

"This is a very strategic golf course," said Loren Roberts, who leads the tour with four wins. "You have to pay attention to where you hit it off the tee."

[Last modified October 6, 2006, 01:45:58]