European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 15, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday july 15, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 21 Ballesteros takes Lead in British open first round sports Lytham England a despite taking two penalty shots seve Balleste Ros extracted a 67 from cold wet gust winds and established a two stroke Lead thursday in the 117th British open Golf championship. A terrific round. That s a fantastic score under these conditions Jack Nicklaus said. Incredible said Nick Price. That terrific incredible round left him two shots ahead of two unlikely challengers american Brad Faxon a non Winner in five years on the . Tour and austra Lian Wayne Grady. A pair of australians Peter senior and43-year-old Journeyman Noel Ratcliffe and the South african Price were tie with american Don Pooley at 70, one under Par and three Back of Ballesteros. South african David Frost Dav Drussell of Scotland and new zealand s Bob Charles who won the British open Here in 1963, were tied with americans Jay Haas and Bob Tway at 71. Defending Champion Nick Faldo of England also had a 71, but a disappoint ing one. He was tied for the Lead wit five holes to play then dropped four shots to Par including a double bogey on the 17th. Ballesteros also had late trouble but head enough of a Cushion to save his Lead. I feel i played the first 13 holes Thebes that i can play said Ballesteros twice the Winner of this title and a two times masters Champion who played the front nine in 30 and could have Don even better had he not missed a 4-foot Birdie putt on the eighth Hole. On the Back it is very Tough. I Madea few mistakes but it s so Tough you expect to make mistakes said Ballestero who won his first major title on the same Royal Lytham and St. Annes Golf club course in 1979. At that time Ballesteros made thereat escape coming out of almost con Stant trouble to score pars even birdies once making Birdie from a parking lot in a come from behind final round. This time an older More experienced More conservative Ballesteros took a More conventional route. Wind blown drives got him deep into the Bushes twice on the Back nine on the 14th and 18th, and he took unplayable lies rather than try to Hack it out. Even Daniel Boone could t play from there Ballesteros said. Each drop led to a one putt bogey. Definitely it was very difficult to shoot four under in these conditions but the Way i played i Don t deserve an worse he said. The conditions were terrible. It was cold. It was Windy. It was wet. Still a record opening Day gallery of35,191 flocked to the humps and hollows and the Damp dunes of this course on England s West coast which has been burying ground of american Hopes. A United states citizen has not won a Lytham St. Annes since Bobby Jones acquired the title in 1926. And the 47-Man american Field playing in the Gale Force winds occasion Al driving rain and temperatures chill enough to Send the players burrowing into sweaters ski Caps and foul weather gear did Little to indicate that history of frustration would be changed. Faxon was the Best american with his 69. Pooley playing in his first British open championship birdied the last Hole for a 70 while Tway bean and Haas each matched Par 71. Pea Champion Larry Nelson was a two under Par through 13 holes then bogeyed four of the last five a stretch called by Michael Benallack Secretary of the Royal and ancient Golf club of  probably the most difficult finish we  Nelson had a 73. So did be Crenshaw. Fuzzy Zoeller and Craig Stadler were one shot better at 72. To Watson shot 74 with 40 on the Back. Ray Floyd took 76. Lee Trevino had 75. Nicklaus had a 75 and was pleased. Atone Point it appeared he would be unable to play. At 6 30 this morning i was laying on the bathroom floor wondering if i d a photo Spain s seve Ballesteros. Weathered a Windy Day make it said Nicklaus who recovered from severe stomach trouble just in time to make his Early morning Starling time. . Open Champion Curtis strange struggled to a 79 that included two Dou ble bogeys and a 43 on the Back. No excuses he said. I just did thit very Many Good shots and the wind magnifies your  Ballesteros meanwhile did t need any in a Complete Effort in which he used 12 of his 14 clubs. Rooks wins 12th leg spaniard Delgado takes Overall Lead a fan roots on Spain s Pedro Delgado in the 12th stage of the tour de France. A photo l alpe d Huez France a the Netherlands Steven Rooks survived a tortuous and competitive leg that included three Mountain climbs to win thurs Day s 12th stage of the tour de franc cycling classic while Spain s Pedro Del Gado donned the yellow Jersey. Rooks pulled away from three other riders in the final 1 la Miles up the fabled 1 alpe d Huez finish finishing the 141-mile leg in 6 hours 55 minutes 44 seconds. The Tough stage ended with a Zig Zag Ging ride Over 10 Miles and finished nearly 6,600 feet above sea level. Delgado who came in third took Over the Overall Lead from Canada s Steve Bauer who fell 25 seconds behind. However Bauer surprised a number of people by finishing seventh in the leg with a Good Mountain journey that showed he still could reclaim the yellow Jersey Symbol of the Leader. Rooks Netherlands and pm team mate Gert Jan Theunissen came in Sec Ond and Colombia s Fabio Parra was fourth in the stage a ride from Moraine to this Winter resort. At one Point in the final minutes Rooks Theunissen Delgado and Parra Rode together after Parra caught the first  thousands lining the narrow Pas sages cheering them on the rider pushed their Way Forward with barely en9ugh room to Man Euver at some , looking Strong made his be lated move late with 6 Miles left. Then Rooks suddenly accelerated an moved easily away from the others onto a 17-second Victory Over Theunissen whoop sprinted Delgado for second. The stage included two other Moun Tain climbs that ended nearly 6,600 feet above sea level. From there the rider descended quickly sometimes approach ing speeds of More than of 50 Mph on the downhill sections. France s Henri Abadie had the Lead after the first Mountain but encountered trouble with his handlebars on the Down Hill portion which Cost him the Lead. Later Delgado who finished second i last year s tour de France and Rooks took control of the  led the pack up and Down the second Mountain through picturesque passages with a Bastille Day crowd Evi Dent  there various riders made at tacks on them but faded. The unite states Andy Hampsten and Colombia s Luis Herrera were among them but were unable to stay with Rooks and company. Two time tour de France Winner Lau rent mignon of France retired before thursday s leg. He had Slid to 91st place after a mediocre performance and announced earlier this week he was suffer ing from tapeworm. The men faced a time trial Friday from Grenoble to Villard de lans a 24 mile leg. The race continues on a 2,036-mile clockwise circuit around France on its Way to a july 24 conclusion in Paris