Franco, Kuehne Share Lead at 65

Carlos Franco and 1998 U.S. Amateur champion Hank Kuehne shot seven-under-par 65s Thursday to share the first-round lead in the Shell Houston Open at The Woodlands, Texas.

Franco, who shuns the driving range and shows up as late as possible for rounds, arrived at the tournament Tuesday after spending the Easter holiday with his family in Paraguay. He brought a supply of chipas, a cornbread-like food, to remind him of home.

“I brought them down here so I could eat them, to give me power,” Franco joked, flexing his biceps.

Something worked for Franco. He teed off with the morning group under clear, cool conditions and finished with eight birdies and one bogey, equaling the 65 he shot in the first round of the Honda Classic for his low round this year.

Franco had 15-foot birdie putts on the fourth and fifth holes and his only bogey came on No. 10 after he hit a nine-iron to the left. He birdied three consecutive holes, finishing with a two-foot birdie putt on No. 14.

“I hit a seven-iron two feet from the pin,” he said. “That was a great shot, my best shot of the day.”

Kuehne went right to work, starting on the back nine. He had pars on the first two holes and then ran in birdies on seven of the next eight holes to tie Franco for the lead.

He bogeyed the par-four fourth hole to drop a shot back, but birdied No. 8 to tie for the lead.

“I’ve been working hard on my game, it comes as easily as it goes,” said Kuehne, who turned pro last June.

“Honestly, it seems like another day of work. You come in each day and the emotions are the same. It’s great to be the co-leader, but the emotions are the same if I shoot seven under or three over.”

Craig Stadler, Kevin Sutherland, Brian Gay and Jerry Smith opened with 66s on the TPC at The Woodlands. Doug Barron, Fred Funk, Dave Stockton Jr. and Paul Stankowski shot 67s.

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The Royal and Ancient Club might not decide in time for the British Open whether to prohibit the so-called “hot” drivers banned by the USGA.

That means players might be allowed to use the 11 drivers, including the new Callaway ERC, at the tournament in St. Andrews from July 20-23.

The U.S. Golf Assn. two years ago adopted a test to measure the springlike effect of drivers. It determined that the 11 drivers exceeded the limits and allowed golfers to hit the ball too far.

The winner of the British Open will receive $787,400, an increase of $236,200 on the check handed to Paul Lawrie last year. The total prize money available for golf’s oldest major championship will be a record $4.33 million.

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Nancy Lopez is putting off gall bladder surgery until after the LPGA’s Chick-fil-A Charity Championship, where she is the tournament host.

Lopez, 43, had knee surgery last year. The 54-hole tournament begins today at Stockbridge, Ga.