| Dier
leads with record round of 60 Tobias
Dier of Germany shot a PGA European Tour record-tying 10-under-par 60 Thursday
to take the lead after the first round of the Dutch Open. Dier
made 10 birdies and zero bogeys during his course-record round, the 10th time
a player has carded 60 on the European tour. He
took a five-shot lead over David Gilford of England, Ronan Rafferty of Northern
Ireland, and Chris van der Velde of the Netherlands, who all shot 65. ``I'm
still not on earth, I'm somewhere in orbit,'' said the 25-year-old Dier, who missed
the cut in 12 of his previous 15 events. ``It will feel great in a few minutes.
I've never had a score like this -- 60 is a number everybody dreams of.'' It
was the lowest 18-hole score in the Dutch Open's 82-year history, beating the
62s shot by Payne Stewart and Per-Ulrik Johansson on a par-72 course in 1991.
Dier's longest
birdie putt was from 25 feet on the 17th. Despite
his score -- five strokes better than his personal best on tour -- he wasn't thrilled
with the conditions. ``I
didn't think the greens where in optimum condition,'' he said. ``It might just
have rained a little too much.'' Dier
earned a European tour card through the Challenge Tour in 2000, then gained a
one-year exemption by winning the 2001 North West of Ireland Open. He's
182nd on the Order of Merit. ``In
financial terms, a big check would come in very handy. But you know how it goes.
There are a lot of good players and any one of them could suddenly shoot a 62
tomorrow,'' Dier said. Mark
Foster of England won a $45,000 car by making a hole-in-one on the 125-yard No.
5, the shortest hole on the course. He used a pitching wedge to sink the fourth
ace of his career. Padraig
Harrington, David Howell, Jamie Spence, Christopher Hanell, Maarten Lafeber, Raymond
Russell and Jarrod Moseley shot 66 Thursday. Nick
Faldo had a 68, Retlief Goosen recorded a 69, John Daly -- playing with a hand
injury -- was at 70, while defending champion Bernhard Langer carded a 71.
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