Chris DiMarco got off to a fast start in his first event since losing the Masters in a playoff, shooting a season-best 7-under- par 65 on Thursday for a share of the first-round lead at the Zurich Classic in Avondale, La.
India’s Arjun Atwal also opened with a 65, birdieing six of his final nine holes on the TPC of Louisiana, the Pete Dye-designed course in its first year as the tournament site after 16 years at English Turn.
DiMarco, coming off the emotional first-hole loss to Tiger Woods three weeks ago at Augusta National, had a bogey- free round in swirling wind gusts.
“As long as I’m hitting the ball as solid as I’m hitting it, it really doesn’t matter if you play in the wind or not,” DiMarco said. “My irons are very crisp, and when you hit crisp iron shots the wind doesn’t affect them as much.”
DiMarco, who started the round on No. 10, had three birdies on the first nine holes. He got to 4-under with a birdie on No. 1, made five consecutive pars and holed a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 seventh. He closed the round with a birdie on No. 9.
“You’ve just got to know where to miss it on this golf course,” DiMarco said. “You’ve got to know which side you can get up and down from and not try to be real aggressive. I had the luxury of being a couple under par and not having to go for certain pins.”
Atwal, who lost a playoff last month in the BellSouth Classic, said he concentrated on his putting.
“I just tried to make pars because it was so windy,” Atwal said. “Then I got things going on the front nine.”
Defending champion Vijay Singh was in a group at 67.
LPGA: Kris Tschetter shot a 3-under 69 in driving rain that gave way to windy afternoon conditions to top the field in the first round of the Franklin American Mortgage Championship in Franklin, Tenn.
Tschetter made par on just one of her first seven holes and finished with six birdies and three bogeys to take a one- stroke lead over Cristie Kerr, Grace Park and Stacy Prammanasudh. Lorena Ochoa and Wendy Ward led a group that opened with 71s.
Tschetter, an 18-year veteran who won her lone LPGA Tour title in 1992, got off to a quick start by holing a 50-foot putt on No. 10, her first hole of the day. But she gave the stroke back on the next hole, setting the tone for the day.
“I just said, ‘I have to be patient, there’s going to be tough golf out there’ and just tried not to let it bother me,” she said.
PGA European Tour/ Asian Tour: Ernie Els, ranked No. 3 in the world, shot a 5-under 67 to share the lead after the first round of the Asian Open in Shanghai, China.
Six other players also shot 67: Simon Wakefield, Peter Lawrie, Larry Austin, Eddie Lee, Raphael Jacquelin and Jean Van de Velde.
Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez was one of 18 players at 2-under 70. Colin Montgomerie shot a 73.
