Norman Takes Doral Lead at 65, but Kite Is Only a Shot Behind

Greg Norman, playing with the flair and authority that once made him golf’s leading performer, made eight birdies in a seven-under-par 65 and took a one-stroke lead Thursday after the first round of the $1.4-million Doral Open.

“I’m not usually a low first-round shooter,” Norman said. “I’m usually not focused that well in the first round.

“This just reinforces the feeling I have about my game right now, the feeling I’m taking into the start of this season.”

Even Norman’s fast start, however, could not completely separate him from a field that included Tom Kite, Fred Couples, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus.

Kite, the current U.S. Open champion and the winner of his last two starts this season, chipped in for a birdie as the highlight of a 66. He was tied at six under with Dave Rummells, with Paul Azinger and Ed Humenik another shot back at 67.

Couples and Watson led a large group at 68.

“Just like old times,” Watson said after holing out a 130-yard wedge for an eagle-two on the 11th hole.

Nicklaus, 53, attempting to recover from the 1992 season that he called “the low point of my career,” got in at 69.