GOLF ROUNDUP : King’s Fast Start Gets Daniel Going

Beth Daniel, spurred on when partner Betsy King birdied the first two holes, shot a seven-under-par 65 and took a two-stroke lead Friday in the first round of the $400,000 LPGA tournament at Youngstown, Ohio.

King, who won the U.S. Women’s Open last week, was tied for second with Dottie Mochrie and Myra Blackwelder at 67.

Jill Briles, Diane Heinicke-Rauch, Colleen Walker and Juli Inkster were at 68, and 10 others were tied at 69.

Daniel put together a birdie-eagle-birdie string on the third through fifth holes of the 6,297-yard Squaw Creek Country Club course. She added birdies on Nos. 7, 11 and 12. She had no bogeys.

The low scores were unexpected because of swirling wind and intermittent showers throughout the round.

“I’m surprised we made it through,” Daniel said. “The first storm came up while I was in my eagle-birdie binge. I was saying, ‘Stay away, Stay away!’ I didn’t think people would shoot up the course like they are.”

Daniel, King and Ayako Okamoto played together. King started quickly with birdies on the first two holes. Daniel had pars, and Okamoto dropped behind with a double bogey on the first hole.

“That kind of fired me up,” Daniel said. “When Betsy birdied the first two holes, I said I better get going or I’d get lost in the dust.”

King had six birdies but bogeyed the par-3 sixth hole, missing to the right with her tee shot. Blackwelder also had one bogey when she three-putted the par-4 eighth hole.

Chi Chi Rodriguez had the crowds but Jim O’Hern had the lead after the first round of the $500,000 Ameritech Senior tournament at Acme, Mich.

O’Hern scored six birdies and no bogeys on the 6,679-yard Bear course at Grand Traverse Resort for a six-under-par 66 and a one-shot lead over Rodriguez and Don January.

Jim Dent, who won last week at Cincinnati, was in a group of four players tied at 68.

The course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, is considered the most difficult in Michigan with its woodlands, marshes and deep bunkers.

Senior PGA Tour officials moved the tees up to shorten the course by about 500 yards, mowed the rough and set up fairly easy pin placements.

As a result, 28 golfers shot par or better.

January had seven birdies and two bogeys in a round that required only 23 putts.

In the absence of crowd favorites such as Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer--all at the British Open this week--the flamboyant Rodriguez had most of the gallery.

After a bogey on the third hole, Rodriguez made seven birdies over the next 13 holes. He rolled in a 15-foot putt on No. 16 to move into a tie with O’Hern.

But he bogeyed No. 17, a par 3, and missed a nine-foot birdie putt on No. 18.