Dawson needs big check, leads Texas Open after first round

SAN ANTONIO -- Marco Dawson sees his future in Justin Leonard's past: a strong finish to a golf season that will get him at least a couple of more years on the PGA Tour.

With the season running short and facing the prospect of returning to qualifying school yet again, Dawson shot a 7-under-par 64 Thursday to grab the first-round lead at the Texas Open.

A victory would earn him a two-year exemption on tour, something he probably considered a long shot last year when a ruptured disc in his back made it too painful to pick up a golf ball, let alone swing a club.

"It could happen," he said of his chances of winning this week. "Maybe it's my turn here or I'll have a good three weeks or so."

He was good on Thursday, firing a bogey-free round at the La Cantera Golf Club.

Leonard, the defending champion, and Jay Williamson were a shot off the lead, while Scott McCarron, Carl Paulson, Bob Burns and Brandel Chamblee were at 5-under.

Even with the Ryder Cup matches postponed until next year, the tournament drew just a handful of the game's biggest names and only three Ryder Cup players: Sweden's Jesper Parnevik and Americans David Toms and Hal Sutton.

Parnevik led the trio with a 67, while Sutton had a 69 and Toms a 74.

The Texas Open is typically a late-season stop for players vying for position on the money list, a scenario Leonard and Dawson know well.

"I was there seven years ago," Leonard said of his 15th place finish here in 1994 that earned him a money-list exemption for the next year.

"I know exactly what those guys are going through, and it's pretty tough. Some of them will play great and never look back and others may struggle," he said.

Guys like Dawson.

Dawson was given a medical extension for the tour this year after his surgery in May 2000. The extension required him to earn $346,785 in his first 20 tournaments this year.

Through 14 events this season, he's about $200,000 short. His best finish was a tie for 16th at the Shell Houston Open in April.

Dawson turned pro in 1986. He's never won on the PGA Tour and had to go through qualifying school in '91, '92 and '94.

"I've been there too many times," he said.

AFLAC Champions

MOBILE, Ala. -- South Korea's Mi Hyun Kim, seeking her fourth LPGA Tour victory, shot a 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the AFLAC Champions.

Dottie Pepper was second after a 67. Pepper, who lost on the first hole of a playoff with Australia's Karrie Webb last year, bogeyed the final hole on Magnolia Grove's Crossings Course.

The elite 40-player field is made up of tournament winners from 1999-01 and active Hall of Famers.

-- From wire reports