GOLF ROUNDUP : Baker-Finch Leads With a 62 and It Could Have Been Lower

Ian Baker-Finch matched the course record with a nine-under-par 62 in Thursday’s opening round of the Anheuser-Busch Classic at Williamsburg, Va. Then he lamented about what could have been.

“I missed five other birdie putts from 10 feet in,” Baker-Finch said.

Had he made three of those, the Australian would have tied the PGA Tour single-round scoring record Al Geiberger established with a 59 at the 1977 Memphis Classic.

“I’ve been setting some plans and goals recently, and I was thinking the other night how I’d really like to break 60,” said Baker-Finch, whose previous low round was a 63. “And I realized you can’t think about breaking 60 until you’ve shot 62 or 61. So I was thinking I wanted to lower my achievement level.

“Now I can start thinking about 61, and hopefully I can eventually think about getting to less than 60. But 62’s a goal achieved.”

Baker-Finch birdied six of his last seven holes at Kingsmill Golf Club to tie the course record set by Mike Sullivan a year ago on the 6,776-yard layout along the James River.

Bob Gilder, who began his round about the time Baker-Finch was finishing his, also avoided any bogeys in carding a 63 as 14 players shot 66 or lower.

“It’s tough to go out there and see that,” Gilder said of glancing at the leader boards early in his round. “It works on your mind a little bit.”

Dan Pohl, continuing his recovery from major back surgery that kept him off the tour last year, had a 64. Also at that figure was Mike Reid.

Roger Maltbie, Blaine McCallister and Dudley Hart carded 65s.

Sullivan was joined at 66 by Sam Randolph, Chris Perry, Mike Hulbert, Brad Fabel and Scott Hoch.

Nick Faldo of Britain and Scotsman Colin Montgomerie fired four-under-par 68s and shared a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Irish Open at Killarney.

Newly crowned U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart was among eight players tied at 69.

Tammie Green had five of her seven birdies on the first nine holes, shooting a course-record 64 and taking a three-stroke lead in the LPGA McDonald’s Championship at Wilmington, Del.

Green, a five-year pro whose only victory came in the 1989 duMaurier, birdied the first four holes en route to surpassing the 65 of Ayako Okamoto in 1987.

The 31-year-old Green leads Beth Daniel, Mary Beth Zimmerman, Deb Richard and Sally Little, who are at four-under 67.

After making a 30-footer for birdie on the 13th hole, Green parred the last five holes to match Jane Geddes’ round at Jamaica as the year’s best.