Friend’s 63 Leads the Nelson

Bob Friend’s seven-under-par 63 Thursday gave him a one-stroke lead over Tom Watson and Harrison Frazar after one round of the GTE Byron Nelson Classic at Irving, Texas.

Tiger Woods, the defending champion who won the BellSouth Classic last week, is in a group at 65 with Blaine McCallister, Frank Lickliter, Scott Gump and Ben Bates.

Friend is the son of the former major league pitcher of the same name. He lost his PGA Tour card and regained it with a 63 on the final day of qualifying school last year.

Playing before a smaller gallery, fewer media and much lighter security than last year when the Byron Nelson was his first tournament after winning the Masters, Woods could have been a lot lower except for a balky putter.

“I left a lot of shots out there today,” Woods said after missing four birdie putts inside 10 feet. “It could have been a low one today.”

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Se Ri Pak. Michelle McGann. Hollis Stacy. Susie Redman. Heather Daly-Donofrio. Dale Eggeling.

“Not a star-studded leader board, is it?” Lisa Walters said of the first-round scores in the LPGA Championship at Rockland, Del.

Pak, a 20-year-old rookie from Korea, shot a six-under 65 to lead Walters, who has not won since 1993, by one stroke.

McGann, Stacy, Redman, Daly-Donofrio and Eggeling were at 68.

“I play good today because I play with the best golfers,” Pak said of her group, which also included Nancy Lopez, who shot 75, and JoAnne Carner, 74.