Masters runnerup DiMarco has hot return

Chris DiMarco got off to a fast start in his first event since losing the Masters in a playoff, shooting a season-best 7-under 65 on Thursday for a share of the first-round lead in the Zurich Classic in Avondale, La.

India's Arjun Atwal also opened with a 65, birdieing six of his final nine holes on the TPC of Louisiana, the Pete Dye-designed course in its first year as the tournament site after 16 years at English Turn.

DiMarco, coming off the emotional first-hole loss to Tiger Woods three weeks ago at Augusta National, had a bogey-free round in swirling wind gusts.

"As long as I'm hitting the ball as solid as I'm hitting it, it really doesn't matter if you play in the wind or not," DiMarco said. "My irons are very crisp and when you hit crisp iron shots the wind doesn't affect them as much."

DiMarco, who started the round on No. 10, had three birdies on the first nine holes. He got to 4 under with a birdie on No. 1, made five straight pars, and holed a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 seventh. He closed the round with a birdie on No. 9.

"You just got to know where to miss it on this golf course," DiMarco said. "You got to know which side you can get up and down from and not try to be real aggressive. I had the luxury of being a couple under par and not having to go for certain pins."

Atwal, who lost a playoff last month in the BellSouth Classic, said he concentrated on his putting.

"I just tried to make pars because it was so windy," Atwal said. "Then I got things going on the front nine."

Defending champion Vijay Singh was in a group at 67.

After three weeks away from the tour, DiMarco showed no sign of being rusty.

"No, because when I went home for two weeks I played a lot of golf," he said.

J.J. Henry, Tom Pernice Jr. and Tim Clark also shot 67s.

LPGA Tour

Kris Tschetter shot a 3-under 69 in driving rain that gave way to windy afternoon conditions to top the field in the first round of the Franklin American Mortgage Championship in Franklin, Tenn.

Tschetter, an 18-year veteran with one career win in 1992, had a one-stroke lead over Cristie Kerr, Grace Park and Stacy Prammanasudh on the Vanderbilt Legends Club's Ironhorse Course.

European Tour

South African star Ernie Els shot a 5-under 67 for a share of the first-round lead in the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai, China.

Frenchmen Jean Van de Velde and Raphael Jacquelin, England's Simon Wakefield, Ireland's Peter Lawrie, Australia's Larry Austin and New Zealand's Eddie Lee also opened with 67s on the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club course.