Lumpy is on a roll

PINE MOUNTAIN - Tim Herron figured he was on the verge of a great round. He just didn&#39;t know it would be his lowest score in three years, a nine-under 63, or that it would come Thursday in the first round of the Buick Challenge. <br> <br> After warming up in the rain, ``Lumpy&#39;&#39; got on a roll by taking only 23 putts on the soft greens of Callaway Gardens for a two-stroke lead over Phil Mickelson and six others. <br> <br> Mickelson, playing the Buick Challenge for the first time in ten years, also had a good day on the greens, but most of the focus was on the club in his hands -- a new putter that looked like a branding iron. <br> <br> It was designed to get the ball rolling immediately, and it helped Mickelson to a 65. He was tied with Rocco Mediate, Bob May, David Gossett, Ben Crane and Michael Long, an alternate who didn&#39;t know he was playing until 20 minutes before he teed off. <br> <br> David Toms was among those at 66. <br> <br> It was Herron&#39;s best score since a 62 in the final round of the 1999 Greater Hartford Open, and his best start in a PGA Tour event since a ten-under 62 in the first round of the 1996 Honda Classic. He went on to a wire-to-wire victory, his first on tour.