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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

DiMarco, Atwal tie for early lead


Chris DiMarco rebounded from a disappointing tie-breaker loss in the Masters to be this week's first-round co-leader.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press

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 in the Zurich Classic at Avondale, La.

India’s Arjun Atwal also opened with a 65, making birdie on 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 straight pars, and holed a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 seventh. He closed the round with a birdie on No. 9.

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.

Opening on the back nine, Singh had two bogeys and three birdies to make the turn at 1 under. He bogeyed No. 1 then had birdies on Nos. 2, 6 and 7.

Singh had an eagle on the par-3 eighth, with a 339-foot drive and a 30-yard chip to go to 6 under. He three-putted No. 9, however, for a final bogey.

J.J. Henry, Tom Pernice Jr. and Tim Clark also shot 67s.

LPGA Tour

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 at Franklin, Tenn.

Tschetter, an 18-year veteran who won her lone LPGA Tour title in 1992, had a one-stroke lead over Cristie Kerr, Grace Park and Stacy Prammanasudh on the Vanderbilt Legends Club’s Ironhorse Course. Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot 71 and is tied for third.