Casey, Levet take early lead at British Open

TROON, Scotland (AP) — In a dramatic start to the British Open that included a hole-in-one by Ernie Els on the famed Postage Stamp hole, Paul Casey of England and Thomas Levet of France each had a 5-under-par 66 to take the early lead Thursday at Royal Troon.

Casey outplayed Masters champion Phil Mickelson, making a birdie on the 18th for an early share of the lead. Levet, who qualified for the British Open with his victory Sunday at Loch Lomond, made four birdies in a five-hole stretch along the easier front nine for his 66.

The conditions were surprisingly calm with only a slight breeze off the Irish Sea, but Els, Gary Evans and Kenny Perry were among those who stirred up the Scottish gallery with spectacular shots.

Els' wedge from 123 yards on the par-3 eighth hole took three bounces before spinning back into the side of the cup, drawing a big grin from the South African and a roar of approval from spectators perched on the dunes surrounding the tiny green.

”It was a good shot and a wonderful, wonderful result,” Els said.

Els didn't fare as well on another par-3, taking two shots to get out of a bunker on the 17th for a double bogey. He wound up with a 69.

”From such a highlight on 8 to such a lowlight on 17, it's amazing,” Els said. ”But I shot 69 and I've got to take that. Anything under 70 is good in a major championship. It's not a bad start.”

Evans made the rarest shot in golf, a double eagle on the par-5 fifth hole by knocking in a 5-iron from 227 yards. Perry got off to a great start, holing out from the fairway for eagle. He was 3 under through six holes.

Evans, K.J. Choi, Carl Pettersson and Matthew Goggin finished at 68, while Colin Montgomerie, former PGA champion Rich Beem and Scott Verplank were among those who joined Els at 69.

Mickelson didn't make a birdie until the 16th hole in his round of 73, although he saw some good golf. He played with Casey, who followed Mickelson at Arizona State and is considered one of the bright young stars in Britain.

”There aren't any funny bounces around here. It's a very, very fair golf course. You are able to post rounds such as 66 out there,” said Casey, who finished tied for sixth in the Masters this year.

Evans of England, best known for losing a ball on the 17th at Muirfield to wreck his Open chances, made the first double eagle in the British Open since Greg Owen on the 11th hole at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2001.

”When I brought one in, it was fantastic,” Evans said. ”Happy days.”

Woods had to save par from behind the first green, a shaky start to his round that began late in the day, but he followed that with a birdie on the second. Vijay Singh and defending champion Ben Curtis also had late starts.

With former PGA champion Rich Beem leading the way with an early eagle that helped him to a 31 on the front nine, the early starters took dead aim at the pins on a morning when the wind off the Firth of Clyde was unusually quiet.

Beem eagled the sixth hole, but found the going tougher when he headed into the breeze on the back nine and shot 38, following a three-putt bogey on the 11th by hitting into the gallery and making bogey on the 12th.

Players had expected the front nine to play easier, mostly because it almost always plays downwind. The second nine on the links course returns directly into the prevailing wind, forcing players to hang on to try and protect their scores.

Unlike the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, where players criticized the course conditions as too severe, Royal Troon offered nothing but the weather and its usual collection of deep bunkers and prickly gorse bushes to protect par.

With the winds light in the morning and half the 156-player field out on the course, 28 players were under par.

On the other end of the spectrum was Tom Weiskopf, the '73 Open champion at Royal Troon playing in his first major since the 1995 British Open. The 61-year-old Weiskopf took a quadruple-bogey 8 on the easy opening hole and shot 45 on the front nine before rebounding with a 35 on the back for an 80.

David Duval didn't even make it to the first tee, withdrawing because of a sprained muscle in his back. Duval played his first tournament of the year last month in the U.S. Open, shooting 83-82 to miss the cut.

Casey is relatively new to this position, having missed the cut in his previous two Opens. Not so for Levet, who first came into prominence two years ago at Muirfield when he lost on the fifth playoff hole to Els.

The Frenchman wasn't even planning to be at Royal Troon this week. His wife had planned a vacation, but then he closed with a 63 at Loch Lomond to win the Scottish Open, earning a spot in the British Open field.

He made the most of his opportunity Thursday.