The drought in the Northeast didn't put a damper on scoring in the Greater Hartford Open today, as Kevin Sutherland, Mike Springer, Tom Scherrer and Skip Kendall shot 63s to share the first-round lead.

The field took advantage of a windless day and a well-watered TPC at River Highlands course to come within one of the course record. It was the lowest first-round score since the 6,820-yard course was redesigned in 1991.

"There's not much wind and the greens were perfect," Sutherland said. "The golf course is really lush."

"It was perfect scoring conditions," Springer said.

A group of seven that included 1997 champ Stewart Cink and Justin Leonard was at 64 and David Duval, the PGA Tour's earnings leader, was in a group of 27 players who shot 68.

Eighty-three golfers in 156-player field shot sub-par rounds. Defending champ Olin Browne was not among them, finishing at 1-over 71.

The average score of 69.5 was second this year only to the 68.7 in the opening round of the Byron Nelson Classic.

Springer is looking for his first tour victory since 1994, the year he won his only two titles and finished 13th on the money list. His game, he said, fell apart at the end of that year and is still a work in progress.

"My putting stats are horrible. In fact, all my stats are horrible. It's nice to get off to a good start," Springer said after a bogey-free round.

Putting was not a problem in his opening round. Springer had 25 putts to finish with seven birdies, rolling in several putts of 10-12 feet.

He said his strength has been his short game, and when that left him so did the paychecks. With $30,000 in winnings so far, he's 225th on the money list.

"My swing fell apart, my body fell apart. I had to reconstruct my game," said Springer, who has battled elbow and wrist problems.

The eight-year pro out of Fresno made just six cuts in 21 tournaments. His best finish was 49th in the Western Open.

"You work hard on your game and you wonder when that A-player is going to show up," he said. "I've had it many times this year where I've hit it great and couldn't put it in the ocean off a cliff. It was just nice to make putts."

Scherrer, winless since turning pro in 1992, has made the cut in 12 of 17 tournaments this year. His best finish was 19th at Doral. At No. 126 on the money list, he's earned more than $200,000.

Scherrer started his round off the No. 10 tee and had 27 putts and eight birdies. He bounced back from his only miscue, a bogey on No. 17, the signature par-4 water hole at the TPC at River Highlands, with a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 18. He picked up his next birdie on No. 2.

"At that point, I knew that if can just stay calm, this could be a great day," Scherrer said.

Kendall, coming off a sixth-place finish at Milwaukee, had seven birdies. By the time he teed off in the afternoon, Springer and Scherrer were already in the clubhouse at 7-under.

"Before I started, you could tell the scoring was good," Kendall said. "And if I don't play well tomorrow morning, I don't care if the conditions are perfect, this is a still a good golf course and it could eat my lunch."

AP