By RYAN SMITH
The (Gainesville, Ga.) Times

DULUTH, Ga. - When Chris DiMarco saw the leaderboard on the practice tee at the BellSouth Classic, he knew what kind of day he was in for.

On a course playing almost as firm and fast as Augusta National, DiMarco posted a 5-under par 67 Thursday at the TPC at Sugarloaf for a one-shot advantage over a group of six players, including defending champion Reteif Goosen and Atlanta's Billy Andrade.

"When you're on the driving range and getting ready to tee off and a bunch of guys are done and 3-under is leading," the first-round leader said, "you know the course is playing tough."

DiMarco was one of 35 players who broke par. His score was three shots off Steve Elkington's first-round 64 in 2002.

But this year's tournament may as well be coined, "Sugarloaf Strikes Back." Thursday's average score was 73.526, only the 12th time in 50 rounds on the PGA Tour this year where the average was more than 73. The course is playing as quick and hard as it ever has, most players said. Even at a stout 7,293 yards, Sugarloaf is playing relatively short due to dry, windy conditions.

That means harder greens with Masters-type speed.

"The fairway are running," Goosen said. "But the greens are much more difficult to get close to the flags. You have to really work the ball a little bit more and try and land it more on the right side of the flag and hope it bounces over there. There's a lot of holes out there that's going to be impossible to get it on the green."

In cases like that, it helps to have a hot putter like DiMarco's. He made three putts outside of 15 feet and needed just 24 putts, fewest of the field, to complete his round.

For the year, DiMarco is averaging 27.68 putts per round, tied for 10th on Tour.

"The better putters are going to putt better on these greens because you have to have some confidence," he said. "You can have three- or four-footers out here that you'd better hit solid and keep on line."

Rookie John Morgan and DiMarco were the only players to reach 6-under par. Morgan was leading through 16 holes before playing the last two in 3-over.

Among those two shots back are former major championship winners Lee Janzen, Fred Couples, Paul Azinger and Mark Calcavecchia.