Robert Damron has lived in a house 400 yards down the 10th fairway at the Bay Hill Club since he was 6, so he rarely missed Arnold Palmer's tournament.
He saw Robert Gamez hole his approach on the 18th for eagle in 1990 to beat Greg Norman by one stroke in the Bay Hill Invitational in Orlando, Fla., watched Tom Kite chip in for birdie to beat Jack Nicklaus and Denis Watson in 1982.Damron even told Bernhard Langer during a round last week that he watched him make eagle from the third fairway at the Bay Hill some 15 years ago.
On Thursday, Damron was a star instead of a spectator.
In a first round suspended by storms, Damron took advantage of a rain-softened course to make seven birdies in the first 15 holes and hang on for a 7-under-par 65.
"I came out here and expected to play well, being my home course," Damron said. "I did, and that was nice."
Damron was one of only eight players to finish, and only 79 players managed to get off the first tee. His 65 led by three shots over Langer, whose longest birdie putt was 15 feet.
The storms stopped another solid round by Tiger Woods, who was 4-under and had a 40-foot putt for eagle on the 12th hole when the sirens sounded.
Nike Monterrey Open
At Monterrey, Mexico, Sergio Garcia, a 17-year-old amateur sensation from Spain nicknamed "El Nino," stormed through the first round of the Nike Monterrey Open with a 6-under-par 66 Thursday.
Casey Martin, in his second tournament since winning a decision against the PGA Tour allowing him to ride a cart because of a physical disability, shot a 69 and was tied for 19th, five shots behind leader Kevin Riley, who eagled his final hole to take the lead.
Standard Register Ping
At Phoenix, Cindy Figg-Currier continued her strong 1998 start with a 6-under-par 67 Thursday to open a two-shot lead after the first round of the Standard Register Ping.
Figg-Currier, who spent 13 years on tour before winning her only title last summer, went birdie-eagle on the 16th and 17th holes but sandwiched the highlights between two bogeys.
Still, her score was two better than those of Helen Alfredsson, a double winner this season, Karen Weiss, Tina Barrett, Jane Geddes, Liselotte Neumann, Jackie Gallagher-Smith and Patty Sheehan.