DULUTH, Georgia, April 4: Chris DiMarco literally clawed his way to the lead after the first round of the PGA BellSouth Classic here Thursday, using the unique claw-putting grip that revived his once-flagging career.

With rock-hard greens and windy conditions putting birdies at a premium, DiMarco used his unique putting approach to earn a one-stroke lead with a 5-under-par 67 at the TPC at Sugarloaf.

DiMarco had six birdies and a bogey and has been one of the best putters on tour ever since, ranking 10th entering this week.

Sugarloaf has been compared to Augusta National Golf Club, home of next week’s Masters, for its hard and fast greens.

Defending champion Retief Goosen of Soutrh Africa headed a group of six tied for second at 4-under 68. He also found the course impressive and expects the final tuneup for the year’s first major to be a tight contest.

Like Goosen, Billy Andrade, Bob Burns, rookie Aaron Barber and journeyman Brad Lardon signed for early 68s. Fred Couples, Mark Calcavecchia, Lee Janzen and Paul Azinger were among a group of seven players to shoot 69.

Little-known Englishman John Morgan also carded a 69, but he had a share of the lead before closing with a double-bogey at the ninth hole.

Only 35 of the 137 players to tee off broke par. Phil Mickelson wasn’t among them. The world’s fourth-ranked golfer settled for a 73.

DiMarco got off to a slow start, parring the first four holes, although a 20-foot putt at the first that “relaxed” him. He played the next 11 holes in 6-under.

While his swing finally came around, DiMarco began his birdie run with a 20-foot putt at the fifth hole and added a six-footer at the sixth.

After consecutive pars, he dropped another 20-footer at nine and followed with a six-foot birdie putt at the 10th.

DiMarco narrowly missed birdie putts at 11 and 12 and failed to convert a six-footer at the 13th, but he rebounded with putts of 15 and 20 feet on the slick 14th and 15th greens, proving he’s one of the best putters around.

DiMarco has the claw to thank. It helped him win an event each of the past three seasons and rank no worse than 15th in putting during that span.

Leading first round scores:

67 Chris DiMarco

68 Retief Goosen (South Africa), Bob Burns, Billy Andrade, Aaron Barber, Brad Lardon, Jay Williamson

69 Paul Stankowski, Lee Janzen, Fred Couples, Mark Calcavecchia, Paul Azinger, Joey Sindelar, John Morgan (Britain)

70 J.J. Henry, Mike Heinen, Bob Tway, Brandt Jobe, John Huston, Tom Pernice Jr., Olin Browne

BANGKOK: Thailand Open leading second round scores on Friday: 133 Thongchai Jaidee 67 66, Edward Loar (U.S.) 67 66, Jason

Dawes (Australia) 68 65 134 Adam Groom (Australia) 67 67 135 Ted Oh (South Korea) 65 70, Lam Chih Bing (Singapore) 70

65, Rick Gibson (Canada) 69 66 136 Anthony Kang (South Korea) 67 69, Aaron Meeks (U.S.) 68 68,

Andrew Pitts (U.S.) 71 65, Aung Win (Myanmar) 67 69—Reuters