Webb leads after first round

Gary Webb broke out of a six-way tie for the lead with a birdie on the 16th hole today to move atop the leaderboard after one round of the Buy.com Mississippi Gulf Coast Open.

Webb fired a 5-under-par 67 at the Oaks Golf Club to finish one stroke in front of Lee Porter, Keith Fergus, Brian Kamm, Tim Clark, and Mark Carnevale, the tour's second-leading money winner in 1997.

Donnie Hammond, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, is one of five players within two shots of the lead. Hammond took over the top spot on the money list with his victory at the Lakeland Classic on Feb. 13, the last event played on the Buy.com Tour.

Webb, who joined Angel Franco as the only players to shoot bogey-free rounds today, reeled off three straight birdies on the front side before adding two more at Nos. 13 and 16. He maintained the lead by saving par with a 15-foot putt at the 17th.

The 39-year-old University of Texas graduate notched the second win of his Buy.com career at last year's Fort Smith Classic. His other victory came in 1996.

Porter, a third-place finisher at the PGA Tour's Greater Vancouver Open in 1998, was tied with Webb for the top spot before bogeying No. 17.

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