Golf Roundup : Verplank Is First Amateur Leader on Tour Since ’79

Scott Verplank, the first amateur in six years to lead a PGA tournament, shot a four-under-par 68 for a one-stroke advantage Thursday after the first round of the $500,000 Western Open in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook.

Verplank, the current national amateur champion, became the first amateur to lead a tour event since Bobby Clampett shared the first-round lead in this tournament in 1979.

Verplank played the back nine at the Butler National Golf Club course in three-under 33 to edge ahead of a quartet of touring pros--Danny Edwards, Dave Ogrin, Larry Rinker and rookie Ernie Gonzalez, all tied at 69.

The group at 70, two under par, included Jim Simons, Lance Ten Broeck and Mark Pfeil.

But while an amateur player was establishing the lead, some of the game’s more glamorous figures had their difficulties in the gusty winds.

Defending champion Tom Watson made two double bogeys and shot 74. Severiano Ballesteros was one stroke higher at 75. Jack Nicklaus struggled to a 76. And Curtis Strange, who has taken three titles this season and leads the game’s money-winners, shot a 77.

Verplank, 21, a native of Dallas and a student at Oklahoma State, has won four important amateur titles this season, including the Western and Porter Cup, and said he has no intention of turning pro in the immediate future.

They took entirely different paths, but after the first round of the $175,000 Jamie Farr Toledo tournament, Nancy Lopez, Lauren Howe and Colleen Walker still shared the top spot.

Lopez needed a birdie on the final hole to post a two-under-par 70, Howe closed her round with a bogey, and Walker finished with a double bogey.

Veteran Johnny Miller of the United States trimmed six strokes off par with a 66 to grab a one-stroke lead over five players, including Graham Marsh of Australia, after the opening round of the $182,000 Scandinavian Enterprise Open championship at Stockholm.