Damron breaks through at LVI

There is nothing new in the fact that 67 percent of the professional golfers broke par in the opening round of the annual birdiefest known as the Las Vegas Invitational.

What is news is how Robert Damron managed to shoot 7-under-par 65 Wednesday and share the first-round lead with Mark Calcavecchia.

Damron, in his second full season on the PGA Tour, was so frustrated over his play this season that he withdrew from last weekend's Michelob Championship in Virginia before the fourth and final round.

Then he didn't touch a golf club until it was time to warm up for his round Wednesday morning.

"I withdrew last week after Saturday's round just because of complete fatigue and disgust in myself," Damron explained after his eight-birdie, one-bogey round at the Tournament Players Club at Summerlin. "I mentally wasn't in the tournament and I didn't feel good -- I was tired.

"I hadn't touched a club until (Wednesday) morning. I went to Kentucky with my girlfriend and visited my sister and never touched a club, never even thought about it."

And he wasn't about to change his casual approach to the $2 million tournament as he prepared for today's second round at the Desert Inn Golf Club.

"(Wednesday) morning, I just came out and warmed up, not knowing how I was going to swing or hit it," Damron said. "And I'm not going to practice after this round, either. I'm going straight to the casino and have a nice time.

"My whole goal this week was to have a good time and it's going to continue to be that way. I'm not going to change just because I played well today. I'll show up tomorrow and warm up and hopefully it's there. If not, that's fine, too."

Damron said his frustration stemmed from the fact that his scoring never really reflected how well he has played at times.

"The whole year, I haven't played as well as I expected of myself and I think it was getting to me," he said. "It has been a long year -- I'm doing OK, I'm in the top 125 -- but just not doing what I think I could and it was getting frustrating.

"All of a sudden, maybe five or six weeks ago, I did start hitting it good and I started giving myself a lot of chances and the scoring was the same or maybe worse. It just got frustrating."

Likewise, Calcavecchia also struggled through a three-month slump this summer, only to see his fortunes change as soon as he hit Las Vegas.

"Basically, my year was the three weeks I had in Florida (in March) when I won the Honda, finished fourth at Bay Hill and fourth at the (Players Championship)," Calcavecchia said following his seven-birdie, no-bogey round, also at the TPC at Summerlin. "I played terrible in June, July and August."

So, like Damron, Calcavecchia decided to approach the LVI with a more casual attitude than his previous 25 PGA Tour stops. It is the same strategy he has had each of his past two trips here, which resulted in a pair of top-four finishes.

"I actually had a chance to win both years so I'm on a pretty good little roll here for three years," Calcavecchia said.

"I just have fun here. I do like to gamble but I put an 8:30 (p.m.) curfew on myself. I enjoy the city and I enjoy playing here."

Damron and Calcavecchia were one shot ahead of a group of six golfers, including former Las Vegas resident Tommy Armour III and 1987 LVI champ Paul Azinger, at 6 under 66. A pack of 14 golfers were tied at 67, two shots off the pace.

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