Hughes falters but holds on

Bradley Hughes called his first nine holes "rubbish.''

Then he double-bogeyed the 10th, so he was more than a little surprised that a late flurry put him back in the lead at Kingsmilll.

"It just shows you it's a stupid game, really,'' he said.

Hughes lost five strokes to par in the first 10 holes, but regrouped with four straight birdies beginning at No. 14 to regain a one-shot lead over David Duval and two others today in the Michelob Championship.

"I wanted to be leading, but not that way," the Australian said after completing his third trip over the 6,853-yard River Course at 1-over-par 72. "It was a horrible start, but it wasn't the end of the day.''

Duval, a two-time winner here, was joined by non-winners Chris Riley and Frank Lickliter at 9-under 204. Duval had a 69 despite three bogeys, and Riley and Lickliter had up-and-down 68s.

Duval, in his second event since taking 10 weeks off for a back injury, went to the fitness trailer for treatment after his round.

"It's not that it hurts. It's just that it is getting tired and the muscles are fatigued as much as anything,'' Duval said of his back.

After some ice and rest, he expected no trouble from his back on Sunday.

"I am not combatting a back problem any longer,'' he said.

David Sutherland, second going into the round and playing in the final group, had a share of the lead heading to No. 18. But he hit his drive way right, chipped back into play, pulled his approach and three-putted.

It was a fitting end to a bizarre day of scattershot golf.

Hughes three-putted the first two holes when he was gripping his putter too tightly, but was encouraged that no one else made a big move.

"I think I was still only one behind after nine holes, so that gave me some, not some confidence, but something to think about,'' he said.

Hughes said tension helped him miss some early 4-foot putts, a problem he later figured out, and he expects not to repeat the mistake Sunday.

"Normally everyone has a bad round in a tournament and I am hoping that was mine to get it out of the way,'' he said. "I have to be confident the way I played the last five, six holes. That was a big comeback.''

Riley and Lickliter, both of whom recently had their best finishes of the year, held a share of the lead after Hughes's early stumble.

Riley's score came despite a double-bogey on the par-4 eighth hole, when he tried to hit a 5-wood out of the deceptively difficult rough and topped it about 10 feet, not even clearing the hazard.

"My caddie was standing there kicking himself because he had had the 4-iron out,'' Riley said. "It didn't come out as I thought it would.''

A birdie at No. 9 was erased by another bogey two holes later, but Riley made three straight birdies starting at the par-5 15th.

"I think I'm ready,'' he said of winning. "I'm ready to do it.''

Lickliter also teased the field, getting as high as 10-under and as low as 7-under after before a two-putt bogey from 4 feet on the last hole.

"I went back to my old irons a couple of months ago and it has really made a difference in how I have been playing,'' he said. "I don't know if I'm ready to win or not, but I am looking forward to tomorrow.''

Riley tied for fourth a month ago at the Air Canada Championship, matching his best finish of a few weeks earlier in Silvas, Ill. Lickliter tied for fifth two weekends ago at the Westin Texas Open in San Antonio.

Sutherland is tied for fifth with Loren Roberts, Cameron Beckman, and David Toms, who shot a 67 despite a late double bogey. Roberts struggled with a wild driver for a 70, and Beckman had a bogey-free 68.

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