BellSouth Classic
A slimmer Mark Calcavecchia made an ideal start on his way to a one-stroke lead after his opening round at the $US1.8 million BellSouth Classic in Atlanta, Georgia, yesterday.
Calcavecchia holed out with an eight-iron from 159 yards for an eagle at the par-four fifth on the soft Sugarloaf TPC course. The American, who added five birdies for a flawless seven-under-par 65, said: ''I was trying to be patient before I got to five.''
His 65 left Calcavecchia one stroke better than fellow American Steve Flesch and Mexican Esteban Toledo with half the field back in the clubhouse. David Duval, winner of last week's Houston Open, shot 67, while Tiger Woods had a 69 in his first competitive round since finishing equal eighth at the Masters.
Due to a morning thunderstorm, which halted play for three-and-a-half hours, half the field, including Scotland's Sandy Lyle, was not expected to complete the round yesterday.
Calcavecchia, the 1989 Open champion at Royal Troon, was one of the hottest players during March and early April, winning the Honda Classic, then finishing fourth the next two weeks before tieing for sixteenth at the Masters. He had a three-week break after that, during which he shedded about 10 pounds by exercising.
''I'm a belt-buckle less,'' said Calcavecchia, who admits that his wife, Sheryl, has been nagging him to lose weight for years. ''My pants are a little loose, but that's okay.
''I'm really not tired walking around this course at all. You look at David Duval and the other guys who work real hard. There's got to be something to it.
''I think when I won the British I was around 205 (pounds - 14st 9lbs), so maybe that's another motivating factor for me to stay at 205.'' Leading completed scores (US unless stated):
65 - Mark Calcavecchia
66 - Steve Flesch, Esteban Toledo (Mexico)
67 - David Duval, Scott Verplank, Glen Hnatiuk (Canada)
68 - Tim Herron, Spike McRoy
Other notables: 69 - Tiger Woods. 71 - Scott McCarron.
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