Bodog Beat

With a 64, Rocco Mediate claimed top spot on the leader board in Grand Blanc, Mich., after the first round. (AI Wire photo)

Hitting driver every chance he got, Rocco Mediate fired an 8-under 64 Thursday to take the first-round lead at the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Mediate, the 2000 champion, rolled in a 23-foot putt at the 18th hole for his eighth birdie to jump ahead of Brett Quigley and Woody Austin for the lead at one of the PGA Tour's most anticipated events. Quigley and Austin both posted 7-under-par 65s earlier in the day, and Brian Bateman matched them in a later group. There were 41 other players who shot 69 or better in perfect conditions Thursday.

Jim Furyk led a group of four players tied for fifth place at 6-under 66.

"You gotta go. You gotta be aggressive this week because it's going to take a low score to win," Mediate said. "I hit driver on every tee, no matter what."

Even without Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh in the field, the scoring average dipped below par Thursday. Players who missed the U.S. Open cut by a mile at Oakmont were suddenly making birdies in bunches at the 7,127-yard Warwick Hills.

"You see the scores low every year. I think you get used to seeing that, so it's the mind set that you have to do that," said Quigley, who shot an 86 Friday at the U.S. Open to miss the cut by 14 strokes. "You feel like you should birdie every hole."

When Mediate won the 2000 Buick Open, he shot a 20-under 268. The way the first round unfolded Thursday, that score will probably net somebody a top-10 finish this week, but not a victory.

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