Mallon shoots 64 to lead by one

Defending champion Meg Mallon picked up right where she left off last year, shooting an 8-under-par 64 today to take the first-round lead at the $850,000 Memorial of Naples tournament.

Mallon did well despite playing in the afternoon, when the wind became more of a factor.

"I looked up at the board on No. 18 and everybody was finished on the leaderboard, so obviously it was all from the morning," said Mallon, who played with Kelly Robbins and Donna Andrews. "I said to Kelly and Donna, 'Was it that hard of an afternoon?' They said, 'Yes, it was.'

"It was just one of those zones you're in where you're not affected by anything."

Mallon led Nanci Bowen, who was bedridden with vertigo-like symptoms on Monday, and 22-year-old Colombian Marisa Baena, by one stroke. Nancy Scranton and rookie Jen Hanna were two shots back, while Chris Johnson was three behind.

"When you're out in the morning, especially when you have it the first day, you'd like to get a good score in, because you know the conditions are usually better in the morning than they are in the afternoon round," said Scranton, who returned from shoulder surgery almost four years ago to finish 26th on the money list last year.

Baena birdied the last three holes after three-putting for bogey on No. 15.

"I was probably 20 feet (away)," said Baena, who was in one of the final groups of the day. "That really made me mad. I birdied the rest of the holes."

Even though Mallon was 6-under on the back nine -- including an eagle on the par-5 No. 11 -- the key for her was surviving the first nine holes.

"You have to get that through that front side, especially when the wind's blowing," said Mallon, who won last year's inaugural event by a shot over Robbins and Helen Alfredsson. "You feel like if you get around even par or 1-under, then you can just get kind of aggressive on the backside. I was fortunate to be 2-under. I just took off on the back."

Hanna had to deal with a little identity crisis.

Scorers following the group had Hanna and fellow rookie Patricia Johnson mixed up. When Hanna made the turn at 4-under, her name was nowhere to be found on the leaderboard.

"I was disappointed that my name wasn't on the leaderboard," she said. "I asked (my caddie) how many birdies I had to make before I got up there."

By the time, Hanna finished, her score had been corrected.

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