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Durant & Janzen share first day lead

Joe Durant and Lee Janzen each shot five- under-par 67s to share the lead after Thursday's opening round of the Houston Open at the TPC at The Woodlands. Fred Couples, Carl Paulson, and young Australian Adam Scott are next at four-under, while Chris DiMarco and defending champion Robert Allenby are among seven players knotted in sixth place at minus-three.

Durant, who won the Bob Hope Classic and the Genuity Championship in a span of three weeks earlier this season, collected seven birdies Thursday including three over the last four holes. Durant putted very well, holing three birdies from over 20 feet and rolling in a 15-footer at the last for the clubhouse lead.

"I hit the ball in play, but I never got it really close a lot of times, but I just made a bunch of putts," said Durant, whose first win came in the 1998 Western Open. "At this time last year if I'd have hit like this, I'd have probably shot over par. But I was able to save some good pars early in the round, and then I made a few putts that I wouldn't have made last year."

Janzen, a two-time winner of the U.S. Open, is in search of his first victory since his come-from-behind triumph at the Olympic Club in 1998. Although he recorded just two top-10 finishes in 2000, Janzen already has one top-10 through 10 events this season after missing the cut in his first three starts.

Lee Janzen, looking to win his first tournament for 3 years. Allsport.

"I played today like I had confidence," he said. "When I picked the club out today, I felt confident that I was doing the right thing. When you're struggling, you get up there and you're just hoping you don't hit it where you're somewhere behind a tree or in the lip of a bunker or something."

Janzen started with a bogey at the 10th but hit approaches close at 12 and 13 for easy birdies. He made the turn at two-under after a 30-footer at 18, then birdied the next two holes, chipping in from just off the green at the second.

Janzen gained his share of the lead with a 25-foot birdie putt at the fifth hole.

Couples, who played his college golf at the University of Houston, eagled the par-five 15th with a 14-foot putt to join Durant at five-under but bogeyed the last for two fall one off the pace.

Paulson, who tied for third at last week's Worldcom Classic at Hilton Head, posted a four-birdie, no-bogey 68, while Scott's four-under-par score featured an eagle at the 520-yard opening hole.

Scott, a 20-year-old Aussie, captured the European Tour's Alfred Dunhill Championship in only his ninth start on that circuit. He is looking to become the third straight Australian to win in Houston, as Melbourne resident Allenby rang up his breakthrough PGA Tour win at The Woodlands last season and Stuart Appleby was victorious in the 1999 event.

Hal Sutton and Billy Mayfair head a group of nine players at minus-two. Mayfair posted his third top-10 of the season last week when he was defeated in a playoff by Jose Coceres in a Monday finish at the Worldcom Classic.

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