Forsman Is Early Leader With a 65 at New Orleans

Dan Forsman, taking advantage of an early tee time on the wind-swept English Turn course, shot a seven-under-par 65 Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Compaq Classic.

Rich Beem opened with a 67, Stewart Cink and Dudley Hart topped a group at 68, and defending champion David Toms shot a 69.

Phil Mickelson, who finished second last year, shot a 73.

Forsman, who won the last of his four PGA Tour titles in 1992, backed off three times because of the wind before sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 18, worried that the wind would steer it off course. But it was his putting, with only 24 putts on the day, that gave Forsman the lead.

“I haven’t had a 24-putt round in quite some time,” Forsman said. “But I’ve been working hard on my putting.”

Beem, who teed off an hour after Forsman, shot a 29 on his first nine, then ran into the wind and had a 38 on the last nine.

“It’s my lowest nine in competition,” Beem said. “I’ve probably shot it out messing around with my buddies, but certainly not in competition.”

No one has led a tournament wire-to-wire this year, and only two first-round leaders have won tournaments--Jerry Kelly at the Sony Open and Tiger Woods at the Bay Hill Invitational.