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Stankowski leads with record round

Paul Stankowski fired a course-record, 11- under 61 on Thursday to grab a three-shot lead after the first round of the Compaq Classic.

Stankowski's 61 broke the old mark of 62 at English Turn Golf & Country Club. That record was set by Dennis Paulson in 1994. The 61 is also the lowest round in Stankowski's career, besting the 63 he shot in the final round of this year's Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Kenny Perry and Brian Watts, both of whom eagled their first hole when they holed their approach shots, are tied for second at eight-under. Jim Carter, Keith Clearwater and Brian Wilson share fourth at minus-seven.

Stankowski had a realistic chance at the elusive 59 plateau but struggled down the stretch. He needed two birdies in his final three holes to join Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and David Duval as the only players to post 59 in a PGA Tour event.

At 16, Stankowski drove into a right bunker off the tee and then flied the green with a seven-iron. His chip rolled 10 feet past the hole but he made the putt coming back to save par.

Stankowski missed the green short at the par-three 17th and played a beautiful chip to four feet where he rolled home another par save. Stankowski two-putted from 40 feet at the last after he mis-hit his approach and settled for his 61.

"I didn't start thinking about anything other than what I was doing until 15," said Stankowski, who withdrew from last week's Greater Greensboro Classic because of a neck problem. "Then I started thinking about 59. I figured only a few guys had shot 59 and I wanted to be one of them. It didn't turn out that way, but it was still a good start."

Stankowski opened with a par but then birdied the second when he drained a three-footer. He rattled off four birdies in a row with a pair of 10-footers at four and five. Stankowski chipped to five feet at six and converted the birdie effort and then followed that with a pitching-wedge approach to two feet at seven.

He added a birdie at nine when he chipped in from 30 feet for a front-nine 30.

Stankowski added two five-foot birdie putts at 10 and 11 before he went on another birdie tear. At 13, Stankowski missed the green right but once again chipped in for birdie. He drilled a 10-footer at 14 and then two-putted from eight feet at the par-five 15th for his third birdie in a row before he closed his round with three pars.

"I made some key putts, some short putts and I made some chip-ins," said Stankowski, who last won on Tour at the 1997 Hawaiian Open. "It was one of those days that happen every now and then."

Perry, who lost a playoff to Mark Brooks at the 1996 PGA Championship, holed his approach at the 398-yard first hole to start a flawless round of 64. He added six birdies along the way for his best opening round of the 2001 campaign.

"It turned out on the front nine I hit it so close I didn't even need a putter," said Perry. "I probably could have putted in with my driver on every hole."

Watts, who also dropped a playoff in a major with his to Mark O'Meara in the 1998 British Open, holed his second at the 420-yard 10th. He mixed seven birdies and a bogey the rest of the way.

Watts had hip surgery earlier in the year and with his tie for 12th last week, think she can win again.

"I would really love to win one here because I think I can play well enough to do it," Watts said. "But like I told somebody the other day, the circumstances have to be right for me to win. I don't have as much talent as a lot of the players out here, but I'm a good player."

Phil Mickelson heads a group of six who are tied for seventh. David Toms, Tom Pernice, Jr., Kelly Grunewald, Brian Gay and Chris Tidland join the world- number-two at six-under par.

Two-time defending champion Carlos Franco is eight shots back at three-under.

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