Coceres finds form in first round of John Deere Classic

The Argentine, winless since 2001, grabbed a one-stroke advantage.

SILVIS, Ill. -- Jose Coceres birdied eight of his first 11 holes and shot a 9-under 62 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the John Deere Classic.

Coceres, seeking his first PGA Tour victory since winning twice in 2001, had birdie putts of 36 and 45 feet in his bogey-free round at the TPC at Deere Run.

"It's very important to have a lot of confidence," Coceres, a native of Argentina, said through an interpreter. "I got some birdies ... and got to 4 under. Then that gave me more confidence to attack the later holes."

Vaughn Taylor eagled the par-5 17th to briefly take a share of the lead, but he three-putted the final hole for a bogey and finished with a 63.

Greg Chalmers and tour rookie Daniel Chopra had 64s.

Vijay Singh, the defending champion, had a 69.

Three lead in ScotlandJose Manuel Lara, Phillip Price and Eduardo Romero shot 6-under 65s Thursday and were tied for the first-round lead of the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond in Luss, Scotland.

Emanuele Canonica carded a 66.

Former British Open champion Tom Lehman, one of a handful of Americans in the field the week before the British Open, birdied the final hole and was among those at 67. Thomas Bjorn was at 68, while Colin Montgomerie shot 69 playing with defending champion Ernie Els (70) and Lee Westwood (71). Phil Mickelson had a 1-over 72.

Morgan takes command Gil Morgan fell one shot short of his own first-round record at the Senior Players Championship in Dearborn, Mich., taking a three-stroke lead with a 7-under 65.

Morgan's lead is the largest opening-round lead in the history of the major tournament.

Dana Quigley, 2001 champion Allen Doyle, Bruce Fleisher, Isao Aoki, Jose Maria Canizares and Mark James all were at 68.

Hale Irwin, the top-ranked player on the Champions Tour, was in a group of seven at 69. Defending champion Craig Stadler and Jim Thorpe had 70s.

Mallon on top againMeg Mallon had a 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead in the first round of the Canadian Women's Open in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

It was a seven-birdie, bogey-free round for Mallon and seemed to be an extension of her final-round 6-under 65 last Sunday when she won her second U.S. Open.

Gloria Park, Johanna Head and Kris Tschetter were at 5 under, while Jennifer Rosales, Dawn Coe-Jones and Angela Stanford were another stroke back in the $1.3 million event at Legends on the Niagara.

-- From wire reports