Rare Sighting: Norman on Top

For those wondering whether Tiger Woods is in a slump, perhaps they should take stock of Greg Norman.

Woods has finished out of the top 10 in his last five tournaments.

Norman has gone four years without winning on the PGA Tour, part of that brought on by hip and shoulder surgeries. He hasn’t led after the first round in 43 tour events, dating to the 1997 Kemper Open.

One minor adjustment in his putting stroke Thursday suddenly made Norman feel like a contender again, and his five-under-par 65 gave him a share of the lead with Jim Furyk after one round of the NEC Invitational at Akron, Ohio.

“This is as confident and as good as I’ve felt in two years,” said Norman.

Woods didn’t do too badly himself.

Tugging at his pants to mock the fact he has dropped nine pounds over the past eight days --from the heat at the PGA Championship in Atlanta and food poisoning this week --Woods strung together three birdies and was among four players at 66.

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Brian Watts set an opening-round record at the PGA’s Reno-Tahoe Open with a 64, one stroke ahead of former Nevada-Las Vegas star Ed Fryatt.

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Heather Daly-Donofrio, who almost withdrew from the First Union Betsy King Classic 10 minutes before her tee time because of back pain, shot a seven-under-par 65 for a one-stroke lead over Rachel Teske at Kutztown, Pa.

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Jim Thorpe shot a course-record eight-under-par 63 in the first round of the AT&T; Canada Senior Open at Mississauga, Canada.

He leads by three strokes.