Golf Roundup : England Leads in World Cup

Howard Clark scored an eagle-3 on the final hole to give England a one-shot lead Thursday in the first round of the 32nd World Cup and International Trophy golf competition at La Quinta, Calif.

Clark’s dramatic finish more than offset a bogey-6 by partner Paul Way on the finishing hole, broke a tie with the United States and Canada and gave the English a seven-under-par total of 137.

The United States, represented by 1985 Player of the Year Lanny Wadkins and Tom Kite, and Canada, represented by Dan Halldorson and Dave Barr, each had a 138 total on the Mountain course at the La Quinta Hotel.

“We both played good, solid golf,” Wadkins said. “Our biggest problem was trying to keep our momentum, keep our patience because play was so slow. Five hours and 50 minutes was a long time to be out there.”

Wadkins shot a 68, four under par. Kite had a 70.

Severiano Ballesteros of Spain, and Tsuneyuki Nakajima and Motomasa Aoki of Japan each shot a five-under-par 67 for a share of the lead in the first round of the $600,000 Dunlop Phoenix tournament at Miyazaki, Japan.

One stroke off the pace was Craig Stadler.