| Grand
Blanc, Michigan, 6th August, 1998 -J.L.
Lewis and Brandel Chamblee, each seeking their first victory on the PGA Tour,
shot 7-under-par 65s and were one stroke ahead of three others after the first
round of the Buick Open today. Defending
champion Vijay Singh, Dudley Hart and Gary Hallberg shot 66s over the rain-softened
Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club course. Heavy
overnight storms delayed the start of the morning round by about 30 minutes. Rain
softened the ground so much that players were allowed to lift, clean and replace
balls hit in the fairway. Chris
Perry, Scott McCarron, Clarence Rose, Phil Blackmar, J.P. Hayes, Kent Jones and
Bob Tway shot 67s, two strokes off the pace. Tiger
Woods, who thought the user-friendly track at Warwick Hills would be the perfect
tuneup for the PGA Championship next week at Redmond, Wash., missed some putts
and played the par-5s at even par. That doomed him to a 71 and might force him
to scramble just to make the cut. Woods,
who finished third three weeks ago in the Open
Championship, had four birdies and three bogeys over the 7,105-yard course.
"I wasted
some shots out there today,'' Woods said. "Hopefully, it will be better tomorrow.
The great thing is there are still 54 holes to play.'' Lewis,
who spent last season on the Nike Tour, got rolling with birdies on the first
two holes. He also put together a string of three straight birdies on the back.
His only bogey came when he drove into some trees bordering the 10th fairway.
"I have
a balanced game,'' said Lewis, who has missed 13 cuts in 21 tournaments this season.
"My biggest weakness is fairways hit.'' Or
missed. Fast
starts are nothing new for Lewis. Three years ago, he shot 64 in the first round
at New Orleans. Finishing has been a bigger problem. "You
learn from experience,'' said Lewis, whose best finish this season was a tie for
sixth in the Buick Invitational in February. "The
key for me this week will be hitting fairways.'' Chamblee
had a bogey-free round that included holing three putts of 20 feet. But he also
took advantage of the soft greens. "The
greens were so soft, I was backing up 4-irons today,'' said Chamblee, who missed
the cut in his first three Buick Opens, then quit coming after 1992. His
4-iron onto the par-3 third hit four feet behind the hole, then spun back to within
one foot of the cup. Singh,
who tied for 19th in his last start three weeks ago in the British Open, figured
he might be onto something good when he hit a sand wedge to within an inch of
the cup at the first hole. "That
was a good start,'' Singh said, laughing. "When you are defending, you like
to get going. Birdie on the first hole is a good boost.'' Hart,
who had rounds of 74 and 73 while tying for 43rd last week at Memphis, played
a bogey-free round this time. "It
was really soft,'' Hart said. "The greens are so soft now, the ball spins
so much you find yourself taking more club, trying to take spin off the ball.''
Woods wasn't
the only well-known golfer to struggle. Justin
Leonard, seeking his first victory since The Players Championship in March, shot
73. "I'm
just not playing good,'' Leonard said. "I'm hitting the ball fine, but I'm
not doing the things necessary to score. It's disappointing. I don't have any
answers.'' Brian
Watts, who emerged onto the world golf scene by finishing second to Mark O'Meara
in the British Open, shot 71, same as Curtis Strange. Jeff
Sluman and Paul Stankowski shot 68s. DIVOT:
P.H. Horgan III shot 71, but it won't count. Horgan, who has been on and off the
PGA Tour since 1989, forgot to register for the tournament when he arrived at
Warwick Hills. He was disqualified. ... Because of the rain-softened conditions,
a ball lying on or touching the fairway of the hole being played could be lifted
and cleaned or improved without penalty and placed within one club length off
where it originally lay, not nearer the hole. ... The "Ho-Hum'' round of
the day went to Lennie Clements, who had 18 pars. | 
