Bryant tames course with 62

ATLANTA - A man who has referred to himself as "Bart Who?" made a pretty sizable step away from obscurity Thursday at East Lake Golf Club.

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After a course-record 8-under-par 62, played with workmanlike precision, Bart Bryant vaulted atop a star-laden leaderboard after 18 holes at the Tour Championship.

Besides blistering a reasonably tough layout, Bryant did something difficult to achieve in a field filled with the PGA Tour's top 30 money-winners.

He made the gallery wonder - some aloud - just who exactly they were watching.

"Bryant?" an on-looker said as he walked up the 17th fairway. "Who's that?"

When he examined who he'd be competing against earlier in the week, Bryant said he had nearly the same reaction.

"I'm working hard to tell myself that I belong," said Bryant, a 42-year-old who won the prestigious Memorial Tournament this year. "I'm trying to prove it to myself," he said. "If I go out and shoot three more 62s, maybe I'll believe it."

A bogey-free round, which included 5-under-par 30 on the back nine, was a good start.

Retief Goosen, the defending champ, had eight birdies to finish two shots back at 64.

"I think it's as easy as you'll see it," Goosen said of East Lake. "The course is there for the taking, that's for sure."

Kenny Perry was one shot back of Bryant heading into 17, but back-to-back bogeys left him at 65. Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods are at 4 under.

But Thursday wasn't about the Sergios, Retiefs and Tigers. It was Bart's day.

Bryant said he began to sense that concept when he sank a birdie putt from 24 feet on the par-3 11th hole. He then birdied 12 and 13 to get to 6 under. An eagle at the par-5 15th moved him to 8 under.

His "worst" shot of the day, he said, came at the 17th. Bryant hung his approach from 136 yards a little left, and it ended up on the ledge of a bunker.

With a ridiculous stance - his left foot up the slope way above the ball and the other gripping for traction in the bunker - Bryant flipped a shot up that landed in the hole, rattled the flagstick and bounced out to 20 inches to set up a simple par putt.

Playing partner Ted Purdy ran up to him and said, "You got robbed, man."

Reach Travis Haney at travis.haney@morris.com.