Molder & Durant lead with 63's

Bryce Molder has struggled during his first full year on the PGA Tour, but the four-time All-American at Georgia Tech may be getting closer to breaking through for his first victory.

The 22-year-old Molder carded a 7-under-par 63 on Thursday -- the low round of his brief career -- and shares the lead with Joe Durant after the first round of the Byron Nelson Classic.

"I am just trying to get better and better," said Molder, who does not even have a card on the Buy.com Tour, making every week important for him if he wants to avoid Qualifying School in the fall.

"Just get more and more comfortable out here, just compete to win golf tournaments," he said. "Winning a golf tournament, a lot of it comes down to luck."

Esteban Toledo, Nick Price, Frank Lickliter, David Gossett and Lee Janzen all are tied for third at 6-under 64. Eleven players are within two shots of the lead.

Birdies were plentiful Thursday as 33 players shot 67 or better. However, Tiger Woods did not share in the wealth as the Masters champion shot a 1-over 71.

After missing the cut in six of his first seven tournaments this year, Molder showed signs of turning things around by tying for ninth last week at the Compaq Classic. He was in contention until bogeying the final three holes.

The Arkansas native gained a share of the lead by shooting a 5-under 30 on the back nine at the host TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas course. He made a strong closing charge, birdying six of the final eight holes.

However, Molder was at a loss to explain his success, both last week and Thursday. He did considerable scrambling, hitting only 7-of-14 fairways.

"You never know what it is that clicks," Molder said. "I may be just eating the right things. It may be whatever the wind happens to be blowing in the right direction or there's just something in my swing. I don't know what it is but confidence has been a big thing."

The 38-year-old Durant won twice early in 2001 to earn Comeback Player of the Year honors but has been uable to regain that form. He tied for 67th at the Compaq Classic, which came after he missed three straight cuts.

Durant, who is just 116th on the money list, said he may have been a victim of his own raised expectations.

"I have to be a little more patient with myself," he said. "My game hasn't been very good this year so far, so I am just trying to almost feel like I am starting from scratch."

On Wednesday, Byron Nelson, the tournament's 90-year-old host, called Woods the best player ever. But Woods appeared rusty in his first appearance since winning his third Masters title three weeks ago. He bogeyed two of the final four holes on a windy day.

While Woods, who captured the Byron Nelson Classic in 1997, can never be counted out of any any tournament, he will have to come from far back in the pack after his round left him tied for 97th.

"Sometimes you come out sharp," Woods said. "A couple years ago, I shot 61 (in the) first round. But you never know. Today was definitely one of those rounds where I wasn't as sharp as I needed to be."

If Molder is going to challenge for his first win, he will have to hold off a talented field as eight of the world's top nine players are entered.

Among the other notables is David Duval, who carded a 66. David Toms posted a 68, while Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and Chris Dimarco all shot 69s.

Defending champion Robert Damron struggled to a 2-over 72.

Molder started somewhat slowly with just two of his eight birdies on the front, then missed a 10-foot par putt on No. 10 for his only bogey of the day.

But he caught fire with his putter, making five birdie putts of 10 feet or longer over the next six holes. Molder capped the round with a relatively easy four-foot birdie on No. 18.

"If I have a good year from here on out, who knows what could happen?" he said. "I could be playing in the Tour Championship at the end of the year or be top 10 by the end of the year."

Durant got his round going with three straight birdies on Nos. 4-6, then added another four birdies on the back. He also wielded a hot putter, sinking six birdie putts of at least 10 feet.

However, putting has not been Durant's strong suit this year.

"Statistically, this year I am almost last in both putting categories," he said. "It's just been a struggle, so I changed my setup a little this week, much more open with my feet. I rolled it great today."

The tournament also is being played on the Cottonwood Valley Course. Both courses are par-70 layouts.

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