Waldorf Has a Good Time and Shoots 63

Too low on the money list to think about the Tour Championship and too high up to worry about losing his card, Duffy Waldorf is one player who can truly enjoy himself playing in Disney’s National Car Rental Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

It showed Thursday, when Waldorf matched his career-low round of nine-under-par 63 in the first round to take a three-stroke lead over Tiger Woods, Jesper Parnevik and Len Mattiace.

“It was a fun day to play,” Waldorf said. “I don’t know if everyone else was having fun, but I thought it was.”

Woods, playing his first PGA Tour event since the World Series of Golf in late August, had a three-putt bogey on his 15th hole, but had an otherwise fine round of 66.

John Huston, the 1992 Disney champion when he set the tournament scoring record of 26-under 262, was in a group at 67 that included 51-year-old Larry Nelson.

Defending champion David Duval bogeyed the last two holes and finished with a 68. PGA champion Vijay Singh shot 69.

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Dottie Pepper and Annika Sorenstam shot three-under-par 69s to share the lead after the wind-blown opening round of the Samsung World Championship of Women’s Golf at The Villages, Fla.

Brandie Burton and Juli Inkster trailed the leaders by one stroke.

At one-under, Karrie Webb was the only other player in the 16-woman field to break par in the swirling, 20-mph wind.

Pepper, trying to win her first tournament in more than two seasons, said she practiced in blustery South Carolina winds last week.

“My instructor said, ‘You realize it will be like this next weekend,’ ” Pepper said. “It’s fall. The cold fronts start to reach this far. You have to be prepared for the windy weather.”

The wind made for an strange stat sheet. For example, Inkster hit only nine of 18 greens in regulation. Burton finished the front nine two-under despite hitting only three of nine greens.

“You just try to bunt it around and try to keep it under the wind,” Burton said. “Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn’t.”

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In Front

Results through Thursday’s play (Complete scores, Page 15):

NATIONAL CAR

RENTAL CLASSIC-Par 72

Duffy Waldorf: 30-33-63 -9

Tiger Woods: 33-33-66 -6

Jesper Parnevik: 32-34-66 -6

Len Mattiace: 33-33-66 -6

SAMSUNG WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

OF WOMEN’S GOLF-Par 72

Dottie Pepper: 35-34-69 -3

Annika Sorenstam: 35-34-69 -3

Juli Inkster: 37-33-70 -2

Brandie Burton: 34-36-70 -2