The Associated Press

MILWAUKEE - Jay Don Blake wasn't thinking about taking the lead at the Greater Milwaukee Open when he saved par with a 9-foot putt on his final hole.

"I wanted to shoot a 29 on one side; I wasn't real worried about being on the leaderboard," said Blake, whose 6-under 64 at soggy Brown Deer Park left him one shot in front of Kirk Triplett.

Blake's luck started to turn when he birdied the par-5 18th, his ninth hole. It was one of six birdies in an eight-hole stretch.

"It's kind of nice to write 29 on your scorecard. You don't do that too often," said Blake, whose only PGA Tour victory came 12 years ago at the 1991 Shearson Lehman Brothers Open.

Blake made a 40-foot birdie putt on the 485-yard, par-4 4th, which used to be a par-5 until a large oak tree was removed this year.

Shigeki Maruyama, who won the GMO two years ago, was at 66 along with Jerry Kelly, Joel Edwards, Brett Quigley and Kenneth Staton.

Defending champion Jeff Sluman had a 72 on the 6,759-yard course.

LPGA: Heather Bowie shot a 6-under 66 Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Canadian Women's Open at Vancouver, British Columbia, and her chances at staying in front improved when Annika Sorenstam withdrew after six holes.

Sorenstam, the LPGA's top money-winner, said she was worn out by a busy schedule over the last two months and a cold that has bothered her since last week's U.S. Open.

"I feel bad for the fans and the tournament, but my whole body feels ill," she said in a statement before leaving Point Grey Golf and Country Club.

Grace Park, Jeong Jang, Pat Hurst and Juli Inkster were two shots out of the lead at 68 on the narrow, tree-lined layout. Defending champion Meg Mallon and Se Ri Pak were in a group of nine at 69.

Bowie is enjoying her best of four seasons on the LPGA Tour. She finished 41st at the U.S. Open last week, but tied for sixth at the Shoprite Classic the week before, her third top-10 this season.

"I don't think it's out of the blue," Bowie said. "I've kind of been right on the cusp of it, and maybe it's coming together now."