NOTEBOOK From Royal St. George's

Kelly opens with 11: An 11 on the opening hole wasn't the reason Jerry Kelly pulled out of the British Open. He wrenched his hand playing his second shot from a clump of grass at the 17th and wound up with inflammation of his left hand. "The doctor thinks my hand is injured enough for me not to play," said Kelly, who shot an 86. "He knows that we would probably be working on it right now if I shot even par. But there is no reason for me to do any more damage. The injury is not what caused me to have a bad round and I am not blaming the injury on that. The doctor has said it will not get better by tomorrow and said for me to go home and see a hand specialist. After shooting this score I need to think about the future of the game."
Hot Ho: Even British Open historians can't recall the first time a player held the clubhouse lead all day. South African Hennie Otto did it when he went out in the first group of players at 6:30 a.m., and shot a 3-under 68 and sat back as no one among the rest of the field of 156 was able to beat it. He led Davis Love II and two-time Open champion Greg Norman by one. Then came another of the early starters -- South Korea's S.K. Ho. Arriving at the Open through the Japanese tour qualifying rounds, Ho, who teed off at 6:52, had a 70 for a share of fourth place. "As my first major championship challenge, I am very happy to make under par," said Ho, whose only tournament win is last year's Shinhan Donghae Open on the Asian PGA Tour. "Before coming to play here, I only wanted to learn from the world's top players," he said. "But, if I can play like today until Sunday, I am going to be so nervous."
-- Associated Press