The International 2006

"I would love to play the Ryder Cup, but it's going to be the next time," Gronberg said after taking the first-round lead at Castle Pines on Thursday.

Overcoming some mediocre early putting, Gronberg stormed home with five birdies on the back nine birdies in delightful morning conditions. He shot a 6-under-par 66 worth 13 points in the modified Stableford format.

Gronberg enjoyed a two-point lead over Stuart Appleby, Stewart Cink, Tom Pernice and John Senden. Masters champion Phil Mickelson struggled to a 1-over 73 worth just one point.

Gronberg, 36, has virtually no chance of automatic selection to the Ryder Cup team and doesn't believe he is on the radar screen of European captain Ian Woosnam, who will make two wild card selections to complete his 12-man squad.

"I could receive a wild card but I don't think I'm on that list," Gronberg said. "I don't think he notices what I do over here."

Gronberg can hardly complain if his name has eluded Woosnam's eye. He has only one top-10 finish in 20 starts on the PGA Tour this year.

But Gronberg looked anything but the world's 265th-ranked player Thursday as he reaped the benefits of a fruitful practice session.

"I found my game on the driving range (Wednesday) and went out today and really hit it great the first few holes and didn't hole the putts," he said. "I hit some awful putts. I was struggling with it and then somehow I rolled in a good birdie on (No. 8) and that calmed me down a bit.

"I made double-bogey the next hole, but I played great the last few holes. It was a very good day."

Gronberg may have given up hope of playing in next month's prestigious international tournament, but Cink hasn't. However, the American has much work to do as he is 20th in the standings with just two events remaining to jump into the top 10 and claim an automatic berth.

"Hopefully I can have a few more rounds like today and get it taken care of," said Cink, who was one of Hal Sutton's captain's picks two years ago. "I remember the last Ryder Cup, I was not too far from where I am now, outside the top 10 trying to get my way in. I remember the huge sense of relief I felt after the race was over and I got picked. I went out the next week and won."

Cink's round was flawless, with a five-point eagle at the par-5 first complementing three birdies. The unique format awards eight points for double-eagle, five for eagle and two for birdie while subtracting one point for bogey and three for double-bogey or worse.

"The eagle was huge," he said. "You have to have eagles to be in contention at the end of the week and it feels good to get one in the first round."

Australian Stuart Appleby doesn't have the Ryder Cup on his mind but is looking for a confidence-boosting performance going into next week's PGA Championship. He plodded along until the par-5 14th, where he holed a 70-foot bunker shot for an unlikely eagle worth five points and vaulted onto the leaderboard.

"I thought I could get it there, but didn't know if I could stop it, and it stopped in the hole," he said. "I got three bonus points there. That's the beauty of this format - very dramatic."

Appleby made a sizzling start to 2006 with two victories in the first four months but missed the cut at both the U.S. and British Opens, somewhat puzzlingl for a player with such immense talent.

"I was definitely disappointed with the British Open," he said. "I felt I had some game there, but just managed to not be able to swing it good enough with my short irons. That just put too much stress on the rest of my game."

Mickelson had the worst possible start, dropping three points at the first hole, where he carved his second shot out of bounds and eventually three-putted for double-bogey.