01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, July 20, 2005

BY PAUL KENYON
Journal Sports Writer

WARWICK -- Even before play began yesterday in the 76th New England Amateur Golf Championship, Jim Renner was the talk of the tournament. Once the action started, Renner moved even more into the spotlight.

The Bishop Feehan graduate and Johnson & Wales (Miami) star, who last week lost to Michelle Wie in the U.S. Public Links Championship in Ohio, fired a 5-under 66 at Valley Country Club to earn a share of the first-round lead in the 72-hole event.

Before he began, Renner took some good-natured kidding about his third-round loss to the 15-year-old Wie in the Public Links. However, no one was kidding Renner after he used one of his best putting rounds of the year to tie for the lead.

The only player to match him was Trevor Murphy, the new Vermont state champion. Murphy, who just finished his freshman year at Charlotte, had to wait longer to post his 66. He was among 54 players still on the course when play was halted at 5:30 p.m. because of a violent thunderstorm. After a 95-minute wait, play was resumed at 7:05 and Murphy birdied two of his last four holes to earn a share of the lead.

Connecticut's Brett Stegmaier, a University of Florida star who was runner-up in this tournament last year, was next at 67.

Three-time Rhode Island champion George Pirie, playing on his home course, had a 68, despite a three-putt bogey on his last hole. Shane Rice, another Valley star, also had 68 as did Massachusetts' Andy Drohen, who had seven birdies on the day.

In all, 16 players fired sub-par rounds, including Crestwood's Billy Auger and Metacomet's Devon Quigley, both at 70.

Still, it was Renner who was the focus, albeit for a different reason than the one he has been dealing with for the past week. Even though he is the national NAIA champion, and winner of five collegiate tournaments this year, Renner received far more recognition for what happened last week, when he fell to Wie, 3 and 1. His buddies have ridden him pretty hard since he returned home.

"It's OK. I knew it was coming," he said with a smile.

Renner said Wie impressed him, although in a different way than he expected. While she has won raves for how far she hits the ball, against Renner Wie was consistently well behind in distance. Her all-around game, on the other hand, was strong for anyone, never mind a 15-year-old.

"Last week was a fun experience, but last week was last week," Renner said, indicating that it is fine with him if everyone looks ahead, not back. "It was a great week, but it was my putting that failed me."

Yesterday was different.

"My putting helped me a ton today and that's been what's been killing me. It's been substantially killing me," he said. The Plainville resident worked Monday with Adam Carlucci, one of his Johnson & Wales teammates, on his putting.

"I'm trying something a little different, getting more feeling in my fingers," he said. "He helped me out and I went out today and rolled the ball great."

Renner needed only 27 putts. It's not that he made long putts, it's that he was so consistent on the greens. His longest putt all day was 15 feet.

"I hit a few squirrelly shots out there, but never put myself in a really bad position. I made crucial up and downs when I had to," he said. "This is the best putting round I've had in a while. I hit my lines where I wanted and with good speed."

Renner felt his day was made easy because everyone in his threesome played well, including Crestwood's Auger. Auger, who reached the finals in last week's R.I. Amateur, was 4-under through 14 holes, sparked by an eagle on the par-5 fifth. But he settled for a 70 when he had a bogey and a double-bogey on his last two par 3s.

Pirie and Rice were the low Rhode Islanders at 68. Pirie felt his home course, which was reduced from par 72 to 71 for the event -- the 16th was turned from a par-5 into a par-4 -- held up nicely.

"This is a legitimate test," he said. Still, he felt he had something of a head start. The periodontist has played the course hundreds of times over the past 30 years.

"On weekends, I have a foursome that plays pretty much all the time and we always play from the back markers," he said. "The course is playing shorter the way they have it." On several holes, tees were moved up to help get the 162 players through.

Rice joked that while he was officially 3-under, he felt like he was 4-under.

"I had a 5 on 16," he said of the hole changed to a par 4. "To me that's a par."

The field will be cut to the low 40 and ties after today's round for a 36-hole finale tomorrow.