Lietzke leads Martin by one

For Casey Martin, it's been a year of frustration and pain. His leg aches, he's played poorly, and the PGA Tour is still trying to keep him from riding in a cart.

For one day in the desert, though, things finally went right.

Martin, battling on the course and in the courts to stay on the PGA Tour, shot an 8-under 64 today to trail part-time player Bruce Lietzke by one stroke after the first round of the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas.

Martin had a share of the lead with Olin Browne and Brad Faxon before Lietzke, who hadn't picked up a club in six weeks, finished a bogey-free round of 63 to take the lead.

"I don't want to complain, but I missed five putts under 14 feet," Lietzke said.

Lietzke, the 1994 winner, hadn't played since the Reno-Taho Open in August and has played only nine times all year.

"I'm convinced there's a thing called muscle memory," Lietzke said. "I'm living proof of it."

Martin's round was not only his best as a pro, but gave him a glimmer of hope that he somehow might earn enough in the last three tournaments of the year to make the top 125 and keep his tour exemption.

"All it takes is one week to turn it around," Martin said. "And a 64 can go a long way toward turning it around.''

Riding in a cart between shots, Martin had eight birdies and no bogeys in his best round of the year.

He did it in a tournament that pays richly -- $4.25 million in all, with $765,000 to the winner. It's money Martin sorely needs to get a big chunk of if he is to make the $250,000 or so he needs in the next two weeks to retain his tour card.

"This tournament is huge because the big payout," Martin said. "I had my sights set on this tournament because, with a big week, you can do really good."

A big week is something Martin has yet to have in a rookie year that started out with some promise but has gone miserably bad.

He's missed seven cuts in his last 11 tournaments, and has made only $12,480 since July. With $123,624 in earnings this year, he is 178th on the money list and will be forced to go back to qualifying school if he can't crack the top 125.

"I haven't played well and I haven't felt well physically," said Martin, who suffers from a circulatory disorder in his right leg that makes it painful to walk long distances. "The problem is, I'm hurting and I'm not playing well so I want to practice to get better. It works against me."

Martin opened his round with birdies on two of the first three holes at Southern Highlands, a new course being used for the first time this year. He ended with a flourish, making a 35-foot putt on No. 17 for birdie, and sinking a 25-footer on 18 for his 64.

The bad news for Martin is he'll have to play one more round than usual this week because of the five-round pro-am event.

"Physically I guess it is a daunting task," he said. "Mentally, it's just being in contention and having more days to think about it."

Even if Martin finishes strongly and keeps his card, he faces another challenge of his right to ride in a cart. The U.S. Supreme Court last month agreed to hear the PGA Tour's appeal of a lower court's decision to allow him to ride between shots.

"Inside the ropes, I don't even think of it," Martin said. "It's been going on so long now, I can't let it get to me."

DIVOTS: Brad Faxon is among about 40 players using the new Titleist solid core ball this week. The ball is making its debut in Las Vegas, after getting approval from the USGA. ... The tournament purse was increased $1.65 million this year to $4.25 million. ... Jim Furyk, who has three of his five wins here, has earned nearly $1.2 million in the Las Vegas tournament. ... The tournament is played on three courses, with all play at TPC Summerlin for the final two rounds. For the first time, a new course, Southern Highlands, is in the rotation. ... Furyk's winning score last year last year was 29-under 360.

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