Goggin takes narrow opening lead

Mathew Goggin doesn't think anyone will mistake him for Matt Gogel this week.

``No, no,'' Goggin said. ``I think they've got it right by now.''

Goggin, an Australian who's been confused with Gogel more than once, shot an 8-under-par 64 Thursday on the North Course at Torrey Pines to take the first-round lead in the Buick Invitational.

Two years ago, shortly after Gogel fell victim to Tiger Woods' unforgettable comeback at Pebble Beach, a TV commentator came up to Mathew Goggin and offered him gentle encouragement.

Oops. Wrong guy.

``He used to get my checks, and I'm hoping I get his checks,'' Goggin said, joking about the confusion that dates to when he and Gogel played the Buy.com Tour.

Thursday's round was the best in 68 PGA Tour tournaments for Goggin, who wouldn't have made the field this week if he hadn't finished in the top 10 last week at Pebble Beach -- which was won by Gogel. It's also the first time Goggin has led a PGA Tour event.

Gogel's not playing the Buick.

On a perfect day with little wind, Goggin had a one-stroke lead over 24-year-old rookie Luke Donald and Jay Williamson.

``It's like leading the first round of the Tour de France on the flat, easy stuff,'' Goggin said. ``We have three days of high mountains to go.''

Woods, the 1999 Buick winner, shot a bogey-free 6-under 66, but watched several putts lip out to leave him tied with Chris Riley, who grew up in San Diego.

Woods brilliantly saved par on his finishing hole, the par-5, 548-yard No. 9 on the North Course, after hitting his tee shot behind a eucalyptus tree.

Rather than hit back onto the ninth fairway, Woods knocked his ball onto the No. 4 fairway to get a better angle, then hit a 176-yard shot from the second cut of rough onto the No. 9 green, leaving him with about a 35-foot birdie putt. He left it 2 feet short, then tapped in for his 66.

Woods, who first played Torrey Pines as a 6-year-old, started his round on No. 10. He had birdies on four of five holes midway through his round to take the lead at 6-under. He could have pushed his score lower, but lipped out a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 No. 7 and then ran a 30-foot birdie putt about a foot past the hole on No. 8.

Woods' tee shots on Nos. 7, 8 and 9 landed progressively farther in the right-side rough.

``It's nice to get off to a good, solid start like that,'' Woods said. ``I didn't hit the ball all that great today, but I hit a lot of beautiful putts. It really could have been a low number today, but nonetheless I'll still take it.''

Goggin opened his round with birdies on three of his first four holes, then finished with three straight birdies to finish the round ahead of Woods and everyone else.

His only bogey came on the par-4 11th, when he hit his tee shot into a trap, then left his next shot in the rough. He chipped to about 5 feet but missed the putt.

Not surprisingly, only three of the 24 golfers who shot 4-under 68 or better played their opening rounds on the longer, tougher South Course, which underwent a $3.3 million renovation during the last year. Of the 73 who are at 1-under 71 or better, 16 played the South.

Mark O'Meara, who's won two majors as well as the 1997 Buick, had the best score on the South Course, a 5-under 67 that left him tied with six others, three strokes behind Goggin.

Phil Mickelson, the two-time defending champion who's won his hometown tournament three times overall, struggled on the North Course with a 1-over 73.

Those who played the North on Thursday move over to the South on Friday, and vice versa. The weekend rounds are on the South Course, which is playing some 550 yards longer after the renovation. Architect Rees Jones changed every teebox, bunker and green on the South Course.

Divots

Goggin's previous-low round on the PGA Tour was 65, which he shot three times, most recently in the third round of the 2001 FedEx St. Jude Classic. ... Thursday's scoring average for the South Course was 73.782, its highest single-day average since the opening round in 1993, when it was 79.351. ... Frank Lickliter, who shot an 11-over 83 on the South, was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. Lickliter three-putted the third playoff holelast year for a triple-bogey, losing the tournament to Mickelson.

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