Kenny Perry, runnerup to Mark Brooks in the 1996 PGA Championship, shot a 6-under-par 64 today for a share of the first-round lead of the John Deere Classic with Robert Damron and Joe Ogilvie.

David Peoples, Mac O'Grady, Katsumasa Miyamoto, Brett Quigley and Briny Baird shot 65s over the 6,762-yard Oakwood Country Club course. Ten players, headed by tour veteran Scott Verplank and 1997 champion David Toms, were at 66, and 16 players were grouped at 67, including three-time champion D.A. Weibring (1979, 1991 and 1995) and two-time champ David Frost (1992-93).

Defending champion Steve Jones, Jeff Sluman and Fuzzy Zoeller were among those at 68.

"I love it here," said Perry, whose round included five birdies and an eagle at the par-5 10th hole, where hit a 2-iron to within 12 feet and knocked in the putt. "I don't know what it is. I'm just very comfortable on this golf course, and I had a lot of good feelings coming into this week."

All of Perry's birdies came on par-4 holes. He birdied the third, seventh and ninth holes on the front nine and the 13th and 15th holes on the back. His lone bogey came at No. 15 when he missed a 3-footer for par.

Perry has 13 consecutive rounds under 70 in this tournament and has four consecutive top-10 finishes. He placed second in 1994.

Damron, 114th on the money list with $225,075, started on the back nine and went out in 33, with birdies at Nos. 10, 15 and 18, offset by a bogey at No. 12 where he missed the green and failed to get up and down.

Damron, who found out last week he has mononucleosis, was 4-under on his incoming nine with birdies at Nos. 1, 5, 8 and 9. He's playing with a new set of irons acquired during the Western Open.

"Since the beginning of the year, my iron play has been terrible, and I've not been giving myself any chances for birdie," said Damron, in his third full season on the tour. "And since the summer started, I was starting to swing better and hit better, but I was fighting -- my energy was so bad."

Ogilvie, a rookie on the tour who is 144th on the money list with $144,576, had seven birdies and one bogey on the. He started on the front nine and birdied the first two holes before a bogey at the par-4 third hole when he missed the green, chipped to 15 feet and missed the putt. He birdied Nos. 6 and 9 to go out in 32, then birdied Nos. 13, 16 and 17 on the back.

"I tend to play well in hot weather," said Ogilvie, who was among the early starters and finished before the temperature completed its climb into the mid to upper 90s. "I don't know why that is, but I like hot weather."

Only 51 of the 156 players failed to match par.

AP