GOLF ROUNDUP : Daly (63) Takes Las Vegas Lead

PGA champion John Daly played the last five holes in six under par and shot a nine-under-par 63 at the Las Vegas Country Club Thursday to take the lead after the second round of the $1.4-million Las Vegas Invitational.

Daly, after a birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie finish, is at 15-under-par 129 and has a two-stroke lead over Bruce Lietzke, who shot a course record-tying 63 at the Sunrise Golf Club.

“When you hit the fairways,” Daly, 25, said, “it’s amazing how well you can score.”

Curtis Strange was upset, but Fred Couples and Steve Pate lifted the top-seeded United States to a 2-1 victory over Korea in the first round of the Dunhill Cup tournament at St. Andrews, Scotland.

Couples shot a one-under-par 71 to defeat Kang Sun Lee by five strokes, and Pate edged Nam Sin Park, 70-71. Strange lost, 72-74, to Sang Ho Choi.

The biggest problem facing them was the drizzle, temperatures in the low 50s and poor visibility on the 6,933-yard, par-72 Old Course.

The Americans, who lost to France in the first round last year, advanced to a second-round match against South Africa, which celebrated its return to international team golf after an 11-year exile by edging Switzerland in a playoff.

Defending champion Paul Azinger, Sandy Lyle and Mangus Sunesson shot seven-under-par 65s to share the first-round lead in the $1.2-million International Open at Munich, Germany.