Gay leads by two after a 64

Brian Gay isn’t on any bubble at the Chrysler Championship. He’s simply in the lead.

Too far down the money list at No. 96 to make the Tour Championship, too high up to sweat over losing his PGA Tour card, Gay played without worries and without a bogey Thursday to post a seven-under-par 64 for a two-shot lead over Mark Calcavecchia at Palm Harbor, Fla.

“I just want to finish the year on a good note,” said Gay, looking for his first PGA Tour victory.

Calcavecchia is No. 128 on the money list and playing mostly for pride, not to mention a spot in the Players Championship. He earned a two-year exemption from winning the Canadian Open last year.

Duffy Waldorf, who is No. 130 on the money list and needed a sponsor’s exemption to get into the tournament, recovered quickly from a bogey on his opening hole to shoot 67, along with Daniel Chopra, Heath Slocum and former PGA champion Steve Elkington.

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Jim Thorpe took a one-stroke lead over Tom Kite with a six-under 66 in the opening round of the Champions Tour’s Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Sonoma, Calif.

Craig Stadler and Bob Gilder finished two strokes back at 68, and Schwab Cup standings leader Jay Haas was among six players four strokes behind, including defending champion Tom Watson and Hale Irwin.

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Annika Sorenstam shot a seven-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead over Namika Omata in the opening round of the Dubai Ladies Masters.

England’s Kiran Matharu, 17, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, was tied for third at 68 after coming within a foot of a double eagle on the par-five 18th.

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The prize money for the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship is being raised $200,000 to $2 million and the winner’s share is $300,000, a $30,000 increase over what Karrie Webb earned in March with a victory in a playoff over Lorena Ochoa. The prize money for the other LPGA major championships is $1.8 million for the LPGA Championship, $3.1 million for the U.S. Open and $1.8 million for the British Open.

-- Thomas Bonk