Curtis fires opening 62, leads Booz Allen Classic

Ben Curtis shot a career-best 9-under-par 62 Thursday at the Booz Allen Classic, topping a lackluster field in the first round of an anticlimactic tournament following the U.S. Open.

The 2003 British Open champion took advantage of the impeccable conditions at TPC at Avenel in Potomac, Md., that looked especially inviting after last week's brutal challenge at Winged Foot.

Curtis led Jeff Gove by one shot and Jose Coceres by two, with Steve Flesch and Will MacKenzie three back. Curtis birdied four consecutive holes on the front nine and five straight holes on the back nine in what he said was his best round he's ever played in competition.

Curtis became the first player in 90 years to win a major on his first try when he captured the British Open three years ago,.

Since winning the British, Curtis has made the cut in only two majors, and his best finish was a mere 30th at the 2004 U.S. Open. He made only 17 of 44 cuts on the PGA Tour in 2004 and 2005, highlighted by a third-place finish at the Western Open last year.

The field's top player in the world rankings is No. 23 Padraig Harrington, who trails by eight after shooting a 1-under 70.

LPGA Tour

Shi Hyun Ahn bested the swirling winds and opened with a 7-under-par 65 to take a one-stroke lead over rookie Brittany Lang in the Rochester LPGA in Pittsford, N.Y.

Lang, 19, a runner-up at the U.S. Women's Open a year ago, twice chipped in from off the green but picked up two bogeys along with eight birdies.

Soo Young Moon was third with a 67, one better than Korean compatriot Gloria Park.

Defending champion Lorena Ochoa, who comes in with two victories and five second-place finishes, carded a 70. Ochoa tops the money list with $1,155,454, almost $35,000 more than resurgent Karrie Webb of Australia, who shot 74.

European PGA Tour

Thomas Bjorn shot an 8-under 65 for a two-shot lead in the first round of the Johnnie Walker Championship in Gleneagles, Scotland.

Bjorn led Paul Casey, Andres Romero and Andrew McLardy, who all had 67s.

U.S. Open runner-up Colin Montgomerie bogeyed the last hole for a 68.

-- The Associated Press