Golf Roundup : Lyle Makes Five Straight Birdies on Way to 65

Sandy Lyle of Scotland made five consecutive birdies and shot a six-under-par 65 for a one-stroke lead Thursday in the first round of the $600,000 Westchester tournament at Harrison, N.Y.

“A good run,” Lyle said. “One of the better days I’ve had on the greens.”

Lyle’s streak, which began on No. 2, included a a 60-footer.

Seve Ballesteros of Spain holed a 75-foot chip shot on the par-3 16th hole and finished with three consecutive birdies to tie for second with Loren Roberts at 66.

“I felt fortunate to get birdie on 16 instead of bogey,” said the 30-year-old Spaniard. “I was in the long grass, and it was very bad. I just tried to hit it as close as I could.

Following Ballesteros and Roberts were Mark Wiebe, Jay Haas, Doug Tewell and Mike Reid at 68.

But Jack Nicklaus, who first won this title in 1967 and now lists himself as semi-retired, struggled to a 77, six over par on the Westchester Country Club course.

Defending champion Bob Tway shot a 75.

Rookie John Horne scored a hole in one with a 6-iron on the 14th, then holed an 8-iron shot for an eagle-2 on the 15th.

It marked the first time since 1985 that consecutive eagles had been scored on the tour. The last player to do it was Rex Caldwell at Pebble Beach. Horne, however, finished with a 73.

Chi Chi Rodriguez shot a record seven-under-par 65 at Ponte Verde, Fla., to lead the $400,000 Mazda Senior Tournament Players Championship by one stroke over Billy Maxwell after the first round.

Rodriguez, 51, winner of his last four senior events and 5 of 10 tournaments this year, birdied six holes and eagled the par-5 No. 8 on the 6,636-yard Oceanside course at Sawgrass Country Club. It was the lowest round in Senior TPC history.

In his last five tournaments, through Thursday’s round, Rodriguez’s stroke average is 66.

Charles Owens was one stroke behind Maxwell at 67. Miller Barber and Gay Brewer each shot 68, and Gary Player and two-time Senior TPC champion Arnold Palmer were at 69.

Deb Richard, last year’s LPGA Rookie of the Year, shot a six-under-par 66 at the Country Club of Indianapolis to take a one-stroke lead after one round of the $350,000 Mayflower tournament.

Tied for second were Lenore Muraoka, Cathy Gerring and Colleen Walker.

Richard was only one shot off the record for the 6,151-yard course. Beth Daniel had a 65 in the 1982 tournament. Sally Little shot a 65 over the hilly terrain in the 1978 U.S. Women’s Open.

Three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Susie Berning was at 68, along with Penny Pulz, Lisa Young and Jan Stephenson, who is playing her first tournament since breaking two ribs in a May 2 auto accident.

Top-ranked Oklahoma State and defending champion Wake Forest share the lead after the second round of the NCAA men’s golf championship at Columbus, Ohio.

Wake Forest, which won the title a year ago on its home course, followed a first-round team total of 297 with a 290 Thursday to stand at 11-over-par 587.

Oklahoma State, second to Wake Forest a year ago and ranked No. 1 in the national coaches’ poll, matched that figure with daily scores of 298 and 289.

UCLA is 10th at 601.

Glen Day of Oklahoma, a junior transfer from Mississippi, shares the individual lead with Walker Cup player Len Mattiace of Wake Forest. Both players shot 1-over-par 73s Thursday after opening rounds of 70 for 36-hole scores of 143.