GOLF ROUNDUP : Dawson Shoots 61 at Chattanooga

Unheralded Marco Dawson shot a nine-under-par 61 Thursday, tying a tournament record and giving him a two-stroke lead in the opening round of the $700,000 Chattanooga (Tenn.) Classic.

Dawson, whose best PGA Tour finish this year was a tie for ninth in the Greater Greensboro Open, had seven birdies on the Valleybrook Golf and Country Club course. He also eagled the second hole with a 15-foot putt.

Dawson leads Steve Lowery, Ted Schulz and Lee Janzen. Lowery matched Dawson’s 29 on the front nine before bogeying No. 11 and slipping back.

“I made a ton of putts today,” said Dawson, 27, who started on No. 10. “I hit 15 greens and made some long putts. I had not made a putt of any distance until the eagle.”

Dawson’s 3 1/2-foot birdie putt on the final hole tied the tournament 18-hole record set last year by Kenny Knox and Dave Rummells.

Greg Ladehoff, Ray Stewart, Jim Gallagher Jr., Howard Twitty, Gibby Gilbert III, Harry Taylor and Lance Ten Broeck all shot 64 on the 6,641-yard course.

Colleen Walker took a nap in the first round of the LPGA Big Apple Classic, but she still took the lead.

Walker shot a five-under-par 30 on the front nine in 95-degree heat at Wykagyl Country Club at New Rochelle, N.Y. When she birdied No. 11 with a 20-foot putt, Walker seemed ready to challenge the course-record 63 that propelled Betsy King to victory last year.

“Then, for three holes I took a nap,” Walker said.

She went bogey-bogey-double bogey, then came back with a birdie at 15 and another at 18 to finish at 67, four under and one shot ahead of Anne-Marie Palli of France in the $500,000 tournament.

Heather Drew was third at 69.