Curtis, Lewis share the lead at Buick

Ben Curtis and J.L. Lewis shot 6-under 64s Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Buick Championship in Cromwell, Conn.

Curtis, the 2003 British Open winner, birdied his 17th hole, and Lewis birdied his 18th to emerge from a group of players bunched at 5 under.

Kevin Sutherland, Justin Rose, Franklin Langham, Vaughn Taylor, coming off a win last week at the Reno-Tahoe Open, and NCAA individual runner-up Michael Putnam, who is making his PGA Tour debut, are a stroke back.

Former U.S. Open winner Corey Pavin is among a group of four finishing at 4 under.

Curtis has only two top 10 finishes since he hoisted the claret jug. He made one cut in his first 10 events this year and his confidence suffered. But he began a turnaround last month when he finished third at the Western Open and then contended early at the PGA Championship with a first-round 67 at Baltusrol for a share of the lead.

Curtis opened with consecutive birdies and played error-free throughout. He grabbed the lead by rolling in a 16-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th.

Lewis made a 10-footer on his final hole, the 406-yard, par-4 ninth, to catch Curtis. Lewis, whose best finish on Tour has been a couple of second places, also had a bogey-free round.

Champions Tour

Dana Quigley made a 45 1/2-foot eagle putt for a 5-under 67 and a share of the lead at the Tradition in Aloha, Ore., the final major of the year on the Champions Tour.

Loren Roberts, John Harris and D.A. Weibring also were at 5 under at the Reserve Vineyards & Golf Club in the suburbs west of Portland, where temperatures Thursday reached 90.

R.W. Eaks, Walter Hall, Mark McCumber, Allen Doyle and Mark Johnson were in a group a shot back at 4-under 68.

Defending champion Craig Stadler was even after a first-round 72. Oregon native Peter Jacobsen, whose production company is running the tournament, shot a 71.

LPGA Tour

Defending champion Catriona Matthew was one of five players tied for the lead at the Wendy's Championship for Children in Dublin, Ohio, in the biggest first-round logjam this year on the LPGA Tour.

Matthew shot a shot 6-under-par 66, a score matched by Paula Marti, Soo-Yun Kang, Heather Daly-Donofrio and Marisa Baena. Another nine players were a shot back as the 144-player field took advantage of soft greens and a short course to post 69 subpar scores.

Lara Tadiotto of Belgium had to shoot a 69 in a qualifier Monday to get into the field, then shot a 67 in the opening round. She was joined at 5 under by Nadina Taylor, Meena Lee, Rachel Hetherington, Michele Redman, Pat Hurst, Karrie Webb, Helen Alfredsson and Brandie Burton.

Top-ranked Annika Sorenstam, seeking her seventh win of the year, came off a two-week vacation in which she barely picked up a club and shot a 69.

Playing in the same group, rookie-of-the-year front-runner Paula Creamer had a 68.

-- From wire reports