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Published: Friday April 10, 2009 MYT 8:54:00 AM
Updated: Friday April 10, 2009 MYT 9:17:13 AM

Golf: No record, but Campbell opens with 65 at Masters

AUGUSTA, Georgia: Chad Campbell ran off five straight birdies, the best start ever in the Masters.

Jim Furyk charged up the crowd with four straight birdies late in his round.

Even that notoriously slow starter, Tiger Woods, got in on the action.

Anyone worried that Augusta National had lost its excitement only had to listen to the sweetest of sounds on Thursday.

The roars returned to the Masters.

Campbell led an assault on the record book with nine birdies in 15 holes before two late mistakes made him settle for a 7-under 65 and a one-shot lead over Furyk and Hunter Mahan.

"It is nice to hear some noises again," Sandy Lyle said.

Augusta National cooked up the perfect formula for record scoring - warm sunshine and only a gentle breeze, along with inviting hole locations and greens that were soft and smooth.

The cheers came from all corners for 11 hours of golf that produced six eagles and 354 birdies.

There were 19 rounds in the 60s, the most ever for the first round, and only four fewer than the entire tournament last year.

It was so easy that Woods nearly broke 70 in the opening round for the first time in his career.

Playing in his first major since winning the U.S. Open last summer, Woods ran off three straight birdies late in the afternoon and was poised to climb even farther up the leaderboard until he missed birdie putts of 8 feet and 4 feet, then hit a shot over the 18th green that led to a bogey and a 2-under 70.

Even so, it was his first time breaking par in the first round of the Masters since 2002, one of four years he's won a green jacket.

Masters chairman Billy Payne had said this year would be an important test to show that supersizing the golf course - it has been stretched more than 500 yards this decade - would not take the thrills out of the Masters.

The weather was ideal, yes, but the club did its part, too, with greens softer than they have been all week and hole locations that allowed players to attack the pins.

The result was 38 rounds under par, another Masters record for the first round.

Greg Norman played for the first time since 2002, and the 54-year-old Shark was shocked by all the changes.

Even more shocking was that he shot a 70 and was mildly disappointed.

"Really could have shot a nice, mid-60s score today," Norman said. "I'm not complaining." - AP

Leading scores Thursday from the Masters at 7,435-yard, par-72 (36-36) Augusta National Golf Club (a-amateur):

First Round=

Chad Campbell 31-34-65

Hunter Mahan 32-34_66

Jim Furyk 34-32_66

Shingo Katayama 34-33_67

Larry Mize 34-33_67

Kenny Perry 35-33_68

Tim Clark 35-33_68

Angel Cabrera 33-35_68

Mike Weir 36-32_68

John Merrick 35-33_68

Todd Hamilton 34-34_68

Aaron Baddeley 35-33_68

Sean O'Hair 34-34_68

Kevin Sutherland 36-33_69

Ross Fisher 33-36_69

Padraig Harrington 35-34_69

Graeme McDowell 34-35_69

Andres Romero 35-34_69

Stewart Cink 35-34_69

Tiger Woods 36-34_70

Zach Johnson 33-37_70

Prayad Marksaeng 36-34_70

Nick Watney 34-36_70

Miguel Angel Jimenez 35-35_70

Bernhard Langer 34-36_70

Greg Norman 34-36_70

Lee Westwood 35-35_70

Jeev Milkha Singh 35-36_71

Jose Maria Olazabal 34-37_71

Ken Duke 36-35_71

Henrik Stenson 35-36_71

Vijay Singh 36-35_71

Geoff Ogilvy 35-36_71

Steve Flesch 36-35_71

Ian Poulter 35-36_71

Adam Scott 35-36_71

Trevor Immelman 38-33_71

Martin Kaymer 37-34_71

Paul Casey 35-37_72

Sandy Lyle 37-35_72

Dudley Hart 37-35_72

Dustin Johnson 34-38_72

Soren Hansen 38-34_72

Stuart Appleby 37-35_72

Bubba Watson 36-36_72

D.J. Trahan 36-36_72

a-Jack Newman 39-33_72

Richard Sterne 33-39_72

Steve Stricker 37-35_72

Rory McIlroy 36-36_72

Robert Karlsson 35-38_73

Ben Crenshaw 35-38_73

Briny Baird 37-36_73

Louis Oosthuizen 37-36_73

Ben Curtis 35-38_73

Rory Sabbatini 37-36_73

Luke Donald 38-35_73

Stephen Ames 36-37_73

Ryuji Imada 36-37_73

Phil Mickelson 35-38_73

Camilo Villegas 36-37_73

Oliver Wilson 34-39_73

Sergio Garcia 36-37_73

Fred Couples 39-34_73

Rocco Mediate 35-38_73

Boo Weekley 37-36_73

Robert Allenby 38-35_73

Y.E. Yang 39-34_73

Ryo Ishikawa 39-34_73

Ian Woosnam 38-36_74

Justin Rose 34-40_74

Mathew Goggin 37-37_74

Tom Watson 37-37_74

a-Danny Lee 38-36_74

Anthony Kim 37-38_75

Chez Reavie 36-39_75

Carl Pettersson 39-36_75

Justin Leonard 37-38_75

a-Reinier Saxton 37-38_75

Retief Goosen 38-37_75

Ernie Els 38-37_75

Mark O'Meara 37-38_75

Pat Perez 37-38_75

K.J. Choi 38-38_76

Soren Kjeldsen 37-39_76

Brandt Snedeker 38-38_76

Lin Wen-Tang 37-40_77

Billy Mayfair 40-37_77

Craig Stadler 41-36_77

Gary Player 37-41_78

a-Drew Kittleson 36-42_78

Alvaro Quiros 38-40_78

Raymond Floyd 38-41_79

Fuzzy Zoeller 40-39_79

a-Steve Wilson 40-39_79

Michael Campbell 41-39_80 - AP


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