Rose fires Greensboro hole in one

ROUND ONE LEADERBOARD -7 J Dufner -6 B Geiberger, B Pappas (SA), B Van Pelt, T Pernice Jr, Brett Quigley -5 J Delsing, B Burns, B McCallister, B Andrade, R S Johnson (Swe), J Rose (Eng), H Kuehne, DJ Brigman, S Elkington (Aus), T Fischer, D Olsen, C Pettersson (Swe)

Britain's Justin Rose shot a hole in one to lie two shots behind leader Jason Dufner after the first round of the Greensboro Classic.

Rose enjoyed his first hole in one as a professional at the par-three 17th and went on to card a five-under 67.

Tour rookie Dufner led the way with seven birdies in his 65 to finish one clear of a group of five players.

Defending champion Shigeki Maruyama of Japan shot a four-under 68 and is tied for 19th, three shots off the lead.

Rose won a car from tournament sponsor Chrysler for his hole in one.

He had been playing the 17th for the first time as Wednesday's pro-am was cut to nine holes because of rain.

"To be honest, that was the first solid shot I hit all day," said Rose.

"I made a hole in one when I was 10 and another when I was 12, and haven't had one since, so I was just delighted that it came on a hole that tough and that long.

"It was a hard three-iron and it was perfect. The guys I played with said it was the best hole in one they'd ever seen."

Dufner is trying to secure his card for next year by earning enough to finish within the top 125 on the money list.

The 27-year-old is 186th on the list with $206,795, with the cut-off point at this stage $545,959.

"It's been a tough year. To be honest, I really don't have anything to lose. I need top fives or better to secure my card for next year," said Dufner.

Only Bo Van Pelt (40th) and Tom Pernice (50th), who are in the group of players tied for second, have already secured their cards.