Allen, Norman Share British Open Lead

Michael Allen of the United States, a true “who’s that?” guy on the pro golf tour, tore up the storied Old Course with the help of a monster putt today to tie Greg Norman for the first-round lead in the 119th British Open.

The Road Hole, the notorious 17th at St. Andrews, was making its presence felt on a balmy summer day by the Scottish seaside, with top golfers such as Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Peter Jacobsen having problems there. It literally brought Jacobsen to his knees and cost him a share of the lead.

But Allen, the winner of just one pro tournament and ranked way down on both the U.S. and European tour this year, never blinked as he nearly mastered the birthplace of golf for a six-under-par 66. He could have held the lead alone but missed a four-foot par putt on the final hole. But by that time Allen had sunk a 100-foot putt on the 13th hole of his first competitive round at the home of golf.

“Peter Jacobsen was on the other hole and bowed to me,” Allen said in reference to the fifth, which shares the mammoth green. “And I was thanking the gods. Longest putt I have made in my life.”

The 66 matched the round of Norman, the 1986 Open champion who put together a six-birdie, no-bogey round, and was one in front of Faldo, the two-time Masters champ who holed a 45-yard bump-and-run from the fairway on the final hole for a birdie.

Allen, a 31-year-old from Phoenix, birdied the par-4 first hole, then strung together seven consecutive 3s, from the seventh to the 13th, to go six-under. That string included birdies on Nos. 7, 9, 10, 12 and 13.

Allen then birdied the par-5 14th and had a chance to go to eight-under on the Road Hole. He sent his second shot to within five feet of the flag but barely missed the birdie putt and settled for a par-4.

On the 18th, Allen--ranked 118th in his rookie season on the U.S. tour and 187th on the European money list--had a not-too-tough putt for the lead. But he missed to the right and had to make a comebacker of about a foot for his lone bogey.

As haze moved in and the wind picked up in late afternoon, Jacobsen made a charge but ran afoul of the Road Hole.

At six-under par, the American sent his third shot into the Road Hole bunker, the steep-sided pit that guards the front of the green. He tried various ways to line up the shot, dropping to his knees at one point to contemplate a swing, and finally blasted out with both feet on the ground.

He two-putted for a double-bogey six and finished in a big group at four-under 68.

Faldo was at 67, one stroke in front of seven veterans--Jacobsen, PGA champion Payne Stewart, Australians Craig Parry and Ian Baker-Finch, Christy O’Connor Jr., of Ireland, Martin Poxon of England and Ian Woosnam of Wales.

Also running into trouble at the Road Hole was 1984 winner Ballesteros. The Spaniard finished at one-under 71 with a birdie on the final hole.

The uncharacteristic weather gave golfers excellent conditions to tackle the oldest course in the world, and Norman showed everyone how to do it.

He opened with a birdie on No. 1, birdied the par-5 fifth to go two-under, then took off on the back nine.

The Australian birdied the par-4 10th and 12th, the par-5 14th and, after a par-4 at the Road Hole, added a final birdie at the 18th.

Other low scores were 69s for Lee Trevino, Eduardo Romero of Argentina and Greg Turner of New Zealand, and 70s for nine players, including Americans Steve Pate, Don Pooley, Mark O’Meara and Mike Reid.

Defending champion Mark Calcavecchia of the United States had a one-under 71, taking a bogey on No. 17, and U.S. Open champ Hale Irwin finished with an even-par 72.

Faldo bogeyed the par-4 17th hole that runs by the most famous road in golf, but then took an eagle-2 at the 18th when he pitched in from the Valley of Sin, the depression that fronts the final green. The ball flew low onto the approach, ran up a hill and down a hollow and into the hole.