GOLF ROUNDUP : Daniel Just Picks Up Where She Left Off

Beth Daniel, who had said she would be shocked to be in contention, shot a five-under-par 67 Friday for the first-round lead in the $500,000 LPGA Phar-Mor Classic at Lauderhill, Fla.

Daniel, the 1990 player of the year, led by one stroke after birdies on three of her first four holes in her first tour start this season.

Tied for second at 68 on the 6,286-yard East course at Inverrary Country Club were Colleen Walker and Japan’s Hiromi Kobayashi, the 1990 Rookie of the Year on the American tour.

Three players were at 69 and five more, including former U.S. Women’s Open champion Sandra Palmer, were at 70.

Daniel, 34, set an LPGA earnings record last season, her 12th on the tour, with $863,578. She also won the Vare Trophy for the low scoring average of 70.54, and won seven tournaments.

“I’m very, very pleased, and a little surprised with the way I hit the ball,” Daniel said. “I thought I would be rusty, and you’re usually a little nervous in your first tournament.”

Her only bogey was at the par-five eighth when she blocked her three-wood second shot behind a tree, pitched back into the fairway and subsequently two-putted from 20 feet.

She made three more birdies on the back nine, two-putting from 40 feet at the par-five 11th, sinking a 15-footer at the par-three 12th and a 12-footer at the par-four 17th.

Kobayashi hit every drive in the fairway, she said, and after a three-putt bogey at the first hole, posted her career-best round in the U.S.

“After last year, I have a lot of confidence,” said Kobayashi, who tied for 12th last week at Lake Worth.

Walker had three birdies in a row on the front side before finishing with bogey at the ninth hole.

“The wind picked up a lot during the day and it was very strong on the last two holes,” she said.

Bob Charles, Frank Beard and Bob Brue each shot four-under-par 68s to share the first-round lead in the $450,000 Suncoast Classic seniors tournament at Tampa, Fla.

Orville Moody, Bobby Nichols and Walt Zembriski shot 69s on the 6,631-yard Tampa Palms Golf and Country Club course, and nine others were at 70.

Most of the low scores were posted in the morning, before afternoon winds of 15 to 20 m.p.h. sent scores soaring. Charles, who won the tournament in 1989, was an exception, playing late in the day but getting four birdies without a bogey.

“I made some bad swings late in the day when the winds came up, but for the most part I got away with them,” Charles said. “It was a good putting round.”

Beard, who had five birdies and one bogey, said that “conditions were difficult late in the round. When the wind came up, it was a definite factor. But I did what I had to do--drive entirely with my three wood and keep the ball on the golf course.”

Brue played early in the day, with five birdies and one bogey. He opened the round with consecutive birdies, sinking a 12-foot putt on No. 1 and a 15-footer on No. 2.