NATCHEZ &045; It was a day of what could have been for some and what surprisingly was for others in Saturday’s first round of the 2005 Beau Pr Club Championship at Beau Pr Country Club.

When all was said and done, Dan Bland had the first-round lead in the championship flight after shooting a 3-under-par 69 to take a one-shot lead over Gary Farmer.

&uot;I was very lucky,&uot; Bland said. &uot;I played a nice course. I missed some makeable birdie putts and I made a couple of unmakeable birdie putts.&uot;

Bland started his round on a good note with a birdie on No. 1. He then birdied No. 5 and then his third birdie of the day was from off the green on the par-3 seventh hole. He added a birdie on the par-5 No. 8 before giving it back with a bogey on No. 9.

Bland could have had an even lower score had he made a couple of putts from three feet away on Nos. 11 and 12. He had to settle for par on those holes. He got it back to 4-under with a birdie on No. 15, but then a bogey on No. 17 got him back to 3-under.

Gary Farmer shot a 2-under-par 70 and had the clubhouse lead for a while before Bland finished his round. Farmer had birdies on Nos. 4 and 5 on the front nine and he birdied Nos. 15, 17 and 18.

One of his three bogeys occurred on No. 16.

&uot;I hit the ball pretty good,&uot; Gary Farmer said. &uot;The greens are rolling good. All the putts I made I was supposed to make. I didn’t make any long putts.&uot;

Bland and Gary Farmer were the only two players to shoot under par in the first round.

Just three shots out of the lead are P.Z. Brewer and Rob Smith, the only two players to shoot round of even-par 72.

&uot;The front side I had one birdie and one bogey,&uot; Brewer said. &uot;The back side I had two birdies and two bogeys. I played pretty solid all 18 holes. I just never got my putter hot to go any lower. I was satisfied with my driving. I just couldn’t make the putts I needed to make.&uot;

&uot;I was very satisfied with the results,&uot; Smith said. &uot;I’ve been struggling the last three months with my game. I’ve been working on it. It’s starting to come around. I hit some good shots and I got away with some bad shots.&uot;

Smith was at 1-under through 13 holes, but back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15, put him at 1-over-par. But a birdie on 18 got him back to even par and saved his round.