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Dawson leads after first
day 64
Marco Dawson sees his future
in Justin Leonard's past: a strong finish to a golf season that will get him at
least a couple of more years on the PGA Tour.
With the season running
short and facing the prospect of returning to qualifying school yet again, Dawson
shot a 7-under-par 64 Thursday to grab the first-round lead at the Texas Open.
A victory would earn him
a two-year exemption on tour, something he probably considered a long shot last
year when a ruptured disc in his back made it too painful to pick up a golf ball,
let alone swing a club.
``It could happen,'' he
said of his chances of winning this week. ``Maybe it's my turn here or I'll have
a good three weeks or so.''
He was good on Thursday,
firing a bogey-free round at the La Cantera Golf Club.
Leonard, the defending champion,
and Jay Williamson were a shot off the lead, while Scott McCarron, Carl Paulson,
Bob Burns and Brandel Chamblee were at 5-under.
Even with the Ryder Cup
matches postponed until next year, the tournament drew just a handful of the game's
biggest names and only three Ryder Cup players: Sweden's Jesper Parnevik and Americans
David Toms and Hal Sutton.
Parnevik led the trio with
a 67, while Sutton had a 69 and Toms a 74.
The Texas Open is typically
a late-season stop for players vying for position on the money list, a scenario
Leonard and Dawson know well.
``I was there seven years
ago,'' Leonard said of his 15th place finish here in 1994 that earned him a money-list
exemption for the next year.
``I know exactly what those
guys are going through, and it's pretty tough. Some of them will play great and
never look back and others may struggle,'' he said.
Guys like Dawson.
Dawson was given a medical
extension for the tour this year after his surgery in May 2000. The extension
required him to earn $346,785 in his first 20 tournaments this year.
Through 14 events this season,
he's about $200,000 short. His best finish was a tie for 16th at the Shell Houston
Open in April.
Dawson turned pro in 1986.
He's never won on the PGA Tour and had to go through qualifying school in '91,
'92 and '94.
``I've been there too many
times,'' he said.
But it was the back injury
that discouraged him the most.
``I couldn't walk. I couldn't
sit down. All I could do was lie down,'' before he finally decided to have surgery,
Dawson said.
He didn't stay down long.
He was on his feet a day after the operation and walking around the golf course
within 72 hours.
``From that point on, I
was working to get back out here,'' Dawson said.
Walking the hills and valleys
of the 7,001-yard La Cantera course didn't bother him Thursday. Starting on the
front nine, Dawson did the most damage in the middle of his round, with birdies
on Nos. 8, 9, 10 in his best round of the year.
``I drove the ball well
today and putted well. That's pretty much what it comes down to every week,''
Dawson said.
A Dallas native and former
player at the University of Texas, Leonard enjoyed the biggest gallery of the
day. He made the turn in 4-under. He followed a bogey on No. 11 with a 25-foot
eagle putt on the 490-yard par-5 14th to challenge for the lead.
``It probably helped that
I played in the afternoon. I had some scores to shoot for,'' said Leonard, who
held a share of the first-round lead last year before cruising to a five-shot
victory.
``All that defending champion
stuff, that's Tuesday and Wednesday,'' Leonard said. ``I got into the round today
and just basically left last year's tournament behind.''
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