Worldcom Classic - The Heritage of GolfSingh birdies final hole to forge three-way tie 04/13/01[an error occurred while processing this directive] <BR><FONT SIZE=5>  Singh birdies final hole to forge three-way tie  </FONT><p> <P><font size=2><I>Web posted  <FONT SIZE=2>Friday, April 13, 2001</FONT><BR>  <P></I></font><FONT SIZE=2> </FONT> <P><FONT SIZE=2><B>  By <A HREF="mailto:astastny@savannahnow.com?subject=Tim Guidera">Timothy Guidera</A>  </B><BR>  <I><A HREF="http://www.savannahnow.com" target="new">Savannah Morning News</A></I>  <P></FONT> <FONT SIZE =3>  HILTON HEAD ISLAND -- Now we know last winter's sophisticated updating at the Harbour Town Golf Links did not include the installation of a defense system.<P> The newly restored layout surrendered low scores as if at gunpoint Thursday, with nearly half the field breaking par in the first round of the 2001 WorldCom Classic. With the course's resurfaced greens putting smoothly and Harbour Town's familiar wind not arriving Thursday, there were 62 sub-par rounds and three players within one shot of the first-round scoring record by the end of the day.<P> Vijay Singh and Billy Mayfair capitalized on uncharacteristically mild afternoon conditions to shoot 6-under-par 65 and join early starter Doug Dunakey in the lead after 18 holes. There were nine players at 5-under, including 2000 Heritage runner-up Tom Lehman, while another eight were at 4-under.<P> In all, 49 players remained within four shots of the lead with three rounds left in the $3.5 million tournament.<P> <TABLE WIDTH=138 BORDER=0 ALIGN=Left VSPACE=5 HSPACE=5 CELLPADDING=5> <TR><TD VALIGN=BOTTOM ALIGN=MIDDLE><A HREF="/images/041301/singh.jpg"> <MCC PHOTO1> <IMG alt="photo: Worldcom Classic" SRC="/images/041301/singhLR.jpg" WIDTH=138 HEIGHT=200 HSPACE=0 VSPACE=6 align=left BORDER=0> </MCC PHOTO> </a><br></TD></TR> <TR><TD CELLPADDING=3 VALIGN=TOP ALIGN=LEFT><center><hr width=60% noshade></center> <font size=2> <MCC CAPTION> 2000 Masters Champion Vijay Singh birdied the final hole to take a share of the first round lead. </MCC CAPTION> <center><font size=1><I><MCC CREDIT></MCC CREDIT></I></font><center><hr width=60% noshade></center></TD></TR></TABLE> "I think the weather has a lot to do with that," said Mayfair, who played his final nine holes in 4-under par to earn his share of the lead. "I think the guys in the morning had very little wind, and the golf course was pretty (receptive) in the afternoon. I think it's a real credit to how good the golf course is right now.<P> "I'm real excited about the way I played, the way I went out. But there's a long way to go."<P> There seemed only one way for the leaders to go at Harbour Town on Thursday.<P> All three started on the back nine. All three turned in minus-2. And all three shot 34 on the front with birdies on both par 5s.<P> It's the directions they came from to reach the top of the leaderboard that were different, Singh a multiple major championship winner, Mayfair a five-time Tour winner and Dunakey currently on the game's biggest losing streak.<P> The 37-year-old Port Charlotte, Fla., resident has lost 34 pounds since the start of the season with an exercise program and a low-carbohydrate diet. Thursday, he shed strokes with equal swiftness, making seven birdies and one bogey to top his previous best opening round this season by five shots.<P> In his only previous Heritage appearance, he shot 76-80 and missed the cut by 13 shots in 1999.<P> "I wasn't expecting a whole lot," said Dunakey, whose best finish on Tour so far this season was a tie for 47th place at the Honda Classic. "I guess I came back after having a whole year and a half on the Tour and getting used to the golf courses. The great thing about this course is you have to hit it in certain areas, and it doesn't necessarily have to be the fairway.<P> "So you really have to learn where to position yourself off the tee and where to miss."<P> Dunakey did not miss often Thursday, due largely to some recent learning.<P> After a week with his instructor, Todd Stones, he not only played differently than the last time he was at Harbour Town but like a different player. Entering the week ranked 144th in driving accuracy, Dunakey hit all but one fairway at Harbour Town and used his driver off the tee on six of his seven birdie holes.<P> Mayfair hit every fairway, while Singh hit 11 of 14, which explains their shared success.<P> "You have to drive the ball well here," Mayfair said. "It is a finesse-type golf course that we don't see anymore on Tour."<P> If so, the field finessed Harbour Town to death Thursday, in ways and at times that it typically doesn't.<P> The early starters produced 31 sub-par rounds, which is common for the typically still morning conditions. But when the wind failed to pick up in the afternoon the way it ordinarily does, the fast start turned into a full assault.<P> The same number of players broke par in the afternoon, while the late starters played the course in a cumulative 9-under par, compared to the collective 2-over turned in during the morning session.<P> "The course was there for the taking today," said Lehman, whose 66 Thursday put him at 15-under par for his last three Heritage rounds. "The greens are not real fast, and they're a little bit firm, so they are just about right for making putts."<P> "The greens are so perfect right now over here that, if you are inside six, eight feet, you have a very good chance of making every one of them," added Singh, whose first-round 65 followed a final-round 64 last year, making him one of only four players to shoot 13-under par over two rounds in the Heritage. "Unless the wind picks up, I think this is going to be a low-scoring week."<P> It is already better than expected for Dunakey, who might not be known by many golf fans but is certainly no stranger to solid play.<P> The 14th-year professional has played on the PGA Tour the last three seasons but had his best round as a member of the Buy.Com Tour. He shot 59 in the 1998 Miami Valley Open, three-putting the final green for bogey. After finishing 124th on the Tour money list last year, he has missed the cut in five of his nine starts and is 183rd in 2001 earnings.<P> "It has been a slow start," said Dunakey, whose best career finish is a tie for third place. "But I have been a slow starter all three years out here."<P> He was a fast starter Thursday, playing in the first group off No. 10 and finishing in first.<P> But if playing conditions remain as they were for the first round, it may be more important to be a fast finisher this week.<P> Morning News sports columnist Tim Guidera can be reached at 652-0352.<P>  </FONT>[an error occurred while processing this directive]