Davis Love III gets some help from his caddie and brother Mark Love, lining up his putt on the eight green during the first round of the Worldcom Classic Thursday. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — A week after fading at muscled-up Augusta National, Davis Love III shot a 9-under-par 62 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the WorldCom Classic.

        Love, seeking his fifth victory in the event, chipped in twice and made six birdie putts of 15 feet or more at Harbour Town Golf Links, finishing a stroke off the tournament record set by David Frost in 1994.

        And Love did it with a grace few showed last week in the Masters.

        “It was like a chip-and-putt course after hitting 4-, 5-, 6-iron into every hole last week,” Love said. “It does seem easier.”

        The way Love performed, any course would.

        “I thought I played pretty well until I looked up and saw that Davis was 9 under,” said Phil Mickelson, three shots back after a 65.

        Billy Andrade opened with a 64, his best round in 13 trips to Hilton Head. Mickelson joined Frost, Lee Janzen and Billy Mayfair at 64, and Greg Norman and Angel Cabrera shot 65s.

        Mayfair and Norman were the only afternoon starters to make the top eight.

        It was Love's best score in 56 career rounds at Harbour Town, where he's always in contention.

        He says it's because he gears his game for the Masters. Although it hasn't yet paid off with a green jacket, Love's success kicks in a week later. He's the WorldCom's career money winner at more than $1.1 million in 16 appearances.

        Love held the early lead a week ago, too, with a 67 before sliding to eighth behind Masters champ Tiger Woods. Woods is not playing in the WorldCom Classic.

        But Love is much more confident at Harbour Town, with its narrow fairways and small greens.

        “He definitely likes playing here,” said Ernie Els, well back at 71.

        Love had an inkling he was ready to break through at Harbour Town. He shot a 64 in the pro-am Wednesday and told his caddie, brother Mark, to take the clubs to the car instead of the practice range.

        “There was nothing else I could do,” Love said.

        Love opened with birdies on his first two holes, Nos.10 and 11. His 15-foot putt on the 11th hole broke about a foot and signaled to Love that this could be a special round.

        He holed a 50-foot chip in on the par-3 fourth. Two holes later, he chipped in from the front of the green to reach 9 under and begin whispers of a course record.

        The putts stopped falling, though. He had three birdie tries inside 12 feet on his last three holes and missed them all.

        “It's one of those days that you go, "It was a great round,'” Love said. “You're not feeling like you left a bunch out there.”

        LONGS DRUGS CHALLENGE: Cristie Kerr and Sara Sanders, both winless on the LPGA Tour, shot 6-under-par 66s on Thursday to share the first-round lead in the Longs Drugs Challenge in Lincoln, Calif.

        “It would mean a lot to win,” said Kerr, in her sixth season on tour at age 24. “It has been my goal for my entire life. I mean, you are little and out practicing and you pretend to putt to win the U.S. Open. This is the stuff you dream about.”

        After opening with a three-putt bogey, Kerr birdied five of the next eight holes on the Twelve Bridges Golf Club course to make the turn at 4-under 32. She added a pair of birdies on the back nine, the final one coming after her 6-iron shot rolled within 2 feet of the hole on the par-3 15th. She hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation.

        “I hit the ball as well as I could. It is hard to hit it any better than I did today,” Kerr said.

        Two-time champion Juli Inkster shot a 72. Laura Diaz, the runner-up last year, had a 74.

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