Round of Day Has Birdie-Eagle Finish

Glen Day holed a seven-iron from 180 yards on the 18th hole Thursday that gave him a six-under-par 66 and a one-stroke lead after the first round of The Players Championship.

Fred Couples posted a 67 early and it held up until Day finished with a stretch during which he chipped in for a birdie on No. 15, made another birdie on the island-green 17th hole and then closed with his eagle on the par-four 18th.

“I hit the shot exactly like I wanted to,” Day said of the seven-iron that found the cup, the first eagle on No. 18 in the 17 years the tournament has been played on the Stadium Course at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. “But I didn’t think it would get to the pin. It was just a lucky shot.”

Rocco Mediate, who put away his long putter Sunday night and went back to a conventional shaft, grabbed a share of second place with Couples when he birdied the ninth hole, his final hole of the day.

Jerry Kelly was at 68, and Ben Crenshaw, Billy Mayfair, Phil Mickelson and David Duval were in a large group at 69. Ernie Els, Tom Watson and John Daly were in a large group at 71 and Tiger Woods was six strokes back with a 72.

Day, who is in his fifth year on the PGA Tour and has yet to win in 124 events, was on target with his irons for most of his round. All six of his birdie putts were from 10 feet or less and he needed only 23 putts.

Meanwhile, Greg Norman pulled out of the event because of muscle inflammation in his left shoulder.

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Casey Martin, who sued the PGA Tour to gain use of a cart to accommodate his circulatory disorder, will try to qualify for the U.S. Open at the sectional qualifier in Cincinnati.

Martin is exempt from local qualifying because of his victory on the Nike Tour this year but will need to play 36 holes on June 8.

The U.S. Golf Assn. has said it would honor the court order Martin won against the PGA Tour allowing him to ride a cart.

The U.S. Open is June 18-21 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

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In the first round of the Nike Louisiana Open in Broussard, Martin shot a six-over 78, 10 shots behind co-leaders Eric Johnson and Woody Austin.