Chalmers, Klauk share Milwaukee Open first-round lead

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Australian Greg Chalmers and American PGA Tour rookie Jeff Klauk were tied for the lead after Thursday's first round of the Milwaukee Open on six-under-par 64.

Left-hander Chalmers bounced back from a bogey-bogey start with birdies on five of the next seven holes and finished the round with three birdies in a row at Brown Deer Park in Milwaukee.

Klauk, a 31-year-old two-time winner on the satellite Nationwide Tour, had five birdies in a blistering front nine of five-under-par 29 on the way to his low round of the year on the U.S. Tour.

Trailing the co-leaders by two strokes, on a week where most of the world's best known players were competing at the British Open, were Americans Frank Lickliter, Tag Ridings, Jason Gore and Skip Kendall.

One more stroke back was a group of 10 on three-under-par 67 that included Australians Mark Hensby and Stephen Leaney.

(Writing by Larry Fine, Editing by Ian Ransom)