Casey Martin and Shane Supple both fired six-under-par 66s Thursday, and share
the lead after 18 holes of golf at the Nike Tri-Cities Open. Brad Elder and Jerry
Foltz are knotted in second at five-under, while six golfers are knotted at minus-four.
Martin, who hails
from Eugene, Oregon, is currently 15th on the tour money list, and is seeking
his first PGA tour card for the 2000 season. "Every tournament means a lot coming
down the stretch. You just need to make, and need to make, a certain amount of
money, so every shot counts," said Martin.
Supple, who has seven top-25 finishes this year, needed only 24 putts to complete
his first round. "I putted like a genius today, only missed one makeable putt,"
said Supple. "One good finish will get me in the tour championship which is only
50 miles from my house."
Both Supple and Martin were the beneficiaries of early tee-times, as winds picked
up as the day progressed, ensuring that only 50 of the 144 golfers finished the
round under par.
Brian Moog, winner of the 1989 Washington Open, was six players in the afternoon
session to finish at three-under or better. "It was brutal on the back nine,"
said Moog. "The front nine was not bad. But the back nine was so swirly coming
around the mountain, things were tough, the greens were fast, a little experience
helped."
