GOLF SOUTHERN OPEN : Three Shoot 67, Share Early Lead

David Peoples, Neal Lancaster and David Sutherland shot five-under-par 67 and seven others were one stroke back Thursday after the first round of the Southern Open at the Callaway Gardens Mountain View course.

At 68 were Bill Buttner, Marco Dawson, Scott Gump, Richard Zokol, Brandt Jobe, Greg Bruckner and JC Anderson.

None of the top 10 finishers have won a PGA event.

Eight golfers were at 69.

Sutherland, playing in the last group of the day, parred the last five holes to keep his share of the lead.

Lancaster got off to a fast start with a 31 on the front nine that featured five birdies. On the back nine, he took a lead at No. 12 when he birdied by chipping in from the fringe from 20 feet but gave the stroke back with a bogey at 18.

Peoples played in the fourth group of the morning and had no such problems. He breezed through the course without a bogey. Defending champion Kenny Knox opened with a 73.