28 January 2005	Friday	17 Zilhaj 1425

NEW YORK, Jan 27: Robert Damron eagled his final hole for an eight-under-par 64 to grab the first round clubhouse lead at the $4.7 million Bob Hope Classic on Wednesday.

Damron, a Tour veteran with just one win on his resume, holds a one shot edge over Fred Couples and Franklin Langham. Defending champion Phil Mickelson sits one shot further adrift after carding a solid six-under 66.

A five-day, 90-hole golf marathon played out over four par-72 courses in the California desert near Palm Springs, most of the opening round's top scores, including Damron's and Mickelson's, were coming at the 7,003 yard Tamarisk Country Club.

U.S Masters champion Mickelson, who won here for a second time last year, made a disappointing season debut last week at the Buick Invitational. The left-hander got his round off to sizzling start with birdies on three of his first six holes, the only blemish a bogey on his 11th.

Canada's Mike Weir, a winner here in 2003, had a difficult start, finishing at one-under. David Duval, who produced one of the greatest rounds in golf history shooting a final round 59 to lift the title in 1999, could not recapture any of that old magic as his game continued a spectacular decline, stumbling to an opening round 10-over 82.

FIRST-ROUND SCORES

64 - Robert Damron, Fred Funk, Joe Ogilvie, Ted Purdy, Duffy Waldorf

65 - Fred Couples, Neal Lancaster, Franklin Langham, Justin Rose (GBR), Nick Watney

66 - Jason Allred, Joe Durant, Ryuji Imada, Peter Jacobsen, Justin Leonard, Phil Mickelson, Rob Rashell

67 - Brian Bateman, Todd Fischer, Harrison Frazar, Jim Furyk, Bill Haas, Skip Kendall, J.L. Lewis, Peter Lonard (AUS), Billy Mayfair, Ryan Palmer, Pat Perez, Tom Pernice, Tim Petrovic, Hidemichi Tanaka (JPN).

MONTY THREE SHOTS CLEAR

SINGAPORE: Defending champion Colin Montgomerie started his season with a superb seven under par 65 opening round in the Singapore Masters on Thursday. Montgomerie could not contain his delight as he produced a flawless display in hot and humid conditions on the Laguna National course where he claimed the title 12 months ago.

The 41-year old Scot, determined to improve his flagging world ranking, finished three strokes clear of Malaysia's Danny Chia and the England pair of Mark Foster and Nick Dougherty.

England's Lee Westwood birdied his first two holes on the way to a two under par 70, while Dane Thomas Bjorn carded a 72. Sweden's Nicklas Fasth returned to the European Tour with an embarrassing nine over par 81 that included a quintuplet bogey, two double bogeys, two bogeys and two birdies.

England's Sam Osborne ended the first round of his inaugural professional event with a two-stroke penalty after one of the 23-year-old's playing partners reported last year's Berkshire Trophy winner for taking a practice swing in a bunker.

FIRST ROUND SCORES:

65 Colin Montgomerie

68 Danny Chia (Malaysia), Nick Dougherty, Mark Foster

69 Adam Groom (Australia), Soren Hansen (Denmark), Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark), Jason Knutzon (U.S.), Maarten Lafeber (Netherlands), Jean-Francois Lucquin (France), Brett Rumford (Australia)

70 Hendrik Buhrmann (South Africa), Jamie Donaldson, Kim Felton (Australia), Gregory Havret (France), Liang Wen-chong (China), Gary Murphy (Ireland), Angleo Que (Philippines), Lee Westwood

71 John Bickerton, Greg Chalmers (Australia), Marcus Fraser (Australia), Peter Hedblom (Sweden), Harmeet Kahlon (India), Lee Sung-man (South Korea), Jonathan Lomas, Edward Michaels (U.S.), Jamie Spence, Simon Yates. --Reuters