Curry leads after first round 63

Englishman Paul Curry is brand new on the PGA Tour, and so is the golf course he humbled today.

Curry shot an 8-under-par 63 in the first round of the John Deere Classic, good enough for a two-stroke lead. He had a bogey-free round at the Tournament Players Club at Deere Run, which opened last month.

"It was just one of those days when the putts go in,'' Curry said. "When you have days like this, you wonder why you don't do it all the time.''

Curry, who is from Essex, played on the European Tour until 1997, when he had to take six months off due to a back injury. Since then, he has been on the Nike Tour, now the Buy.com Tour.

Six players were tied for second. Two of them, Tim Herron and David Frost, were 7-under going to their final holes, but bogeyed.

Former PGA and British Open champion John Daly was five shots back.

Frost's 3-iron approach shot on the 18th drifted left and into the edge of a pond guarding that side of the green. Herron landed in a sand trap to the right of the No. 9 green, then came out to within 2 feet of the hole but missed the putt.

"That kind of doesn't taste too well 10 minutes after the round,'' Herron said. "But I know I'm right there in the tournament, and I have a chance to post a good score in the morning.''

One of the day's highlights was a double eagle on the par-5 2nd hole by Frank Lickliter, among those tied for second. His drive landed 257 yards from the green, and he hit a 3-wood that landed in front of the green and rolled into the hole.

"It went in just like a putt,'' Lickliter said.

Englishman Paul Curry leads a PGA Tour event for the first time. Allsport.

Others tied for second were Jeff Gove, Bob Gilder, and Andy Bean.

The tournament's former home was the Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley. In years past, the tournament has been called the Miller Classic, Quad Cities Open, Hardee's Classic and Quad Cities Classic. This is the second year it has been sponsored by Moline-based John Deere & Co.

Deere Run was built as to host the Deere Classic. Players said some of the greens played soft, but praised the course overall.

"This year it's playing pretty well,'' said Joe Ogilvie, one of five players who carded 66s. "Next year and the year after, this field is going to grow and grow because this is that good a course."

Gove, a tour rookie, said the new course deprives more experienced players of a perk they often enjoy through having played tour courses many times in the past.

"I think this week the veterans don't have an advantage because it's a new course,'' he said. "This could be a good week for rookies.''

The first round certainly was for one of them.

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