Frost tops crowded leaderboard

David Frost heated up just in time. Tommy Tolles went ice cold after an incredibly hot start.

Frost birdied his final hole Thursday and holds a one-shot lead atop a crowded leaderboard after the first round of the $3.5 million Air Canada Championship.

Winless on the tour since 1997, Frost finished his round at 6-under-par 65. He is one stroke in front of Peter Lonard, Shigeki Maruyama, Scott Gump and Hank Kuehne.

"The first round you never want to shoot yourself out of the game," Frost said. "It's hard coming back the second round. You want to stay in touch with the field. It's nice coming out and shooting a 65 this morning."

Whereas Frost finished strong, Tolles was sizzling at the start of his round, which began on the back nine.

Tolles was on a record pace after he had five birdies and an eagle through his first eight holes. But he quickly began to resemble the struggling player he has become since contending for a berth on the Ryder Cup team in 1997.

Tolles' struggles began at the par-4 18th when he made a double bogey. After making the turn, he bogeyed No. 1 and finished his round at 4-under 67. Tolles is in group of 10 players two shots off the lead.

Overall, there are 40 players within three strokes of the lead. Included in that group is defending champion Joel Edwards and and Fred Funk, who won last week's Reno-Tahoe Open. Edwards and Funk carded 68s.

Playing in the first group of the day, Frost took advantage of a cool morning that left ideal playing conditions at the Northview Golf and Country Club course.

Frost, who has 10 career wins on the PGA Tour, started with consecutive birdies and three over his first four holes. The 42-year-old also had birdies on Nos. 12 and 16 before completing his bogey-free round on the final hole.

At No. 18, Frost hit a 9-iron to within 25 feet of the cup, where he made a birdie putt to complete his round.

"This is the kind of course where you stay away from the flags," Frost said. "A lot of guys like to fly at the flags. This is the kind of course where you have to manage your iron shots, play the pins and try to give yourself a putt. I like the golf course. When I got here Tuesday I liked the conditions."

Frost has a first-round lead for the first time since the 1999 FedEx St. Jude Classic, a span of 63 events.

Maryuama, who is known for his ear-to-ear smile, began his round on the back nine and got off to a hot start, moving to 5-under after nine holes.

But the Japanese native could not build on the start as he managed a birdie and bogey on the front nine.

"I had a good first half but the second half was not quite as good," Maruyama said. "I had a lot of chances on other holes but the poa greens are really difficult to judge. There was a little bit of frustration going on. I haven't had many good results with the poa anna greens but I am happy a lot of putts went in."

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