Pat Perez shot an 11-under-par 61 yesterday to take a one-stroke lead in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic on a warm, still day in the La Quinta, Calif., desert resort area.

With playing conditions ideal, 2003 tournament champion Mike Weir and Bubba Watson opened the five-day tournament with 62s, and six players were another shot behind on the jam-packed leaderboard.

Perez, intimately familiar with how things can go in the low-scoring Hope, wasn't exactly doing handsprings over his round that was just two shots off the PGA Tour record of 59, last matched by David Duval in the final round of his 1999 victory on the same Palmer Course at PGA West.

After all, Perez shot a first-round 60 in the tournament three years ago only to wind up 73rd, and had a second-round 61 in 2003, when he tied for sixth.

So he said he can't be too excited about his opening number this time.

"Because the number is 30 under, 30 plus," Perez said, noting what it often takes to win the Hope when conditions are good. "You don't try to get there too fast, you try to get there over five days.

"So yeah, it's nice, it's a good round, the conditions are perfect. That's all."

He acknowledged, though, that after a 28 on his front nine, the record was on his mind.

"I was thinking 58 for sure," Perez said. "I can't believe it. It's the second year now I've been right there and I haven't been able to do it."

Weir and Watson also played the Palmer Course, one of four used for the pro-am portion of the tournament the first four days. The players rotate among the courses, and the low-scoring 70 pros and ties play Sunday's final round on the Palmer Course.

Castle High alum Dean Wilson opened with a 67 at Bermuda Dunes. The PGA West's Nicklaus Course and Silver Rock are the other two courses in the rotation.

FIGURE SKATING

DAVIS, WHITE WALTZ INTO U.S. ICE DANCE LEAD

Meryl Davis and Charlie White waltzed to the early lead in the ice dance competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland.

The duo scored 39.93 points in the compulsory dance yesterday, putting them more than 3 1/2 points ahead of Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates. Samuelson and Bates, the reigning world junior champions, have 36.28 points going into today's original dance. Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre are third.

With five-time U.S. champions Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto out as he recovers from a back injury, Davis and White are heavy favorites to win their first title.

"It's a little bit different from past nationals," White acknowledged. "But when you're out there, you're thinking about so many other things."

EUROPEAN REIGNING CHAMPIONS WITHDRAW

Reigning ice dance champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin withdrew from the European championships in Helsinki, Finland yesterday because of his knee injury, the second top couple to be sidelined by injuries.

A medical bulletin said Shabalin's earlier knee injury had worsened, but gave no other details. Domnina and Shabalin were favored to defend their title in Helsinki, with reigning world champions Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France out as she recovers from shoulder surgery.

Russia's Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski lead going into today's original dance.

CYCLING

ARMSTRONG AVOIDS CRASH IN AUSTRALIA RACE

Lance Armstrong avoided a crash that forced six riders to withdraw during the third stage of the Tour Down Under at Adelaide, Australia.

Armstrong is competing in his comeback race after returning from a three-year retirement.

Defending champion Andre Greipel of Germany was one of the riders who was forced to withdraw. He went out in the crash on the 11th kilometer of the 136-kilometer stage.

Australian Graeme Brown won the stage.