By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- A
driver and a wedge. Bud Cauley used those two clubs to make the
game of golf look rather easy on Thursday afternoon. Backed by some
long and accurate tee shots, Cauley took dead aim with his wedges
to produce a competitive course record-tying, 8-under 62 during the
first round of The McGladrey Classic. It gave the Jacksonville,
Fla., native a share of the lead with Marco Dawson. Greg Owen, Boo
Weekley and Rod Pampling were tied for third place, two shots back
after 64s. Cauley hit 13 of 14 fairways and 14 greens in regulation
during his low round on the TOUR. He hit all seven fairways and hit
eight of nine greens during a back-nine 29 in which he birdied five
of the first six holes. "Really no complaints today," said Cauley,
who has six top 10s this season but is still searching for his
first career victory. "I've been struggling with my driving a
little bit, and I've been working hard on that and was able to
drive it really well today. "And then took advantage of that with
some great iron shots and made most of the putts, so all in all it
was a really good day." Dawson, 48, is also looking for his first
win. His best finish is second at the 1995 Greater Milwaukee Open.
"You know, I just made some good putts coming in," Dawson said. "I
haven't played well all year, and when I have played decent or had
a good round going, I managed to screw it up somehow." Dawson said
that made him anxious after he got to 7 under and led to his lone
bogey on the fourth hole. But he bounced back with birdies on Nos.
5 and 6 and finished nicely. In 20 events this season, Dawson's
best finish is a T52 at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. But
he's fought through the tough times and finds himself 54 holes from
a rewarding finish. "That would be real huge," Dawson said. "So I'm
looking forward to doing that. So I've got a good start so far.