COOLUM, Australia — Tour rookie Daniel Popovic shot an 8-under-par 64 Thursday to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Australian PGA Championship. Popovic, who revealed after his round that his father is battling incurable cancer, birdied his first four holes at the Palmer Coolum Resort, and later had a string of five birdies in succession. Fellow Australian Scott Strange shot 66 and was alone in second, followed by 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and OneAsia Tour regulars Zhang Xinjun of China and Singapore's Choo Tze-huang, who carded 67s. Veteran Peter Senior, who won last week's Australian Open, was in a group tied for sixth after a 68. Darren Clarke, the 2011 British Open champion, shot 70, including a 10-footer for par on 18. Rory Sabatini of South Africa shot 76. Tournament drawcard Greg Norman pulled out after two holes — both bogeys — due to food poisoning. Tournament officials said Norman was treated in his hotel room by a local doctor and was expected to make a full recovery. Norman flew by helicopter with resort owner Clive Palmer to the Gold Coast for a private function later Thursday. “Greg was trying to soldier through and clearly it wasn't possible ... he was quite ill,” said PGA of Australia chief executive Brian Thorburn. Popovic, who won last year's qualifying tournament to secure his card for 2012, looked set to break the course record of 62 when he was 8-under after 12 holes. But after eight birdies and a bogey, he shot par the rest of the way in, including a testing four-footer on the last. The 25-year-old Popovic said he only realized he was among the leaders early on his final nine. “Through nine, I sort of thought I might be up there, then on the second (his 11th hole) I saw my name up there on the leaderboard. And I thought it might be time for a few more birdies. It didn't happen, but I'm not too disappointed.” Popovic said he's had a tough year. His father, Radi, who gave him his start in the game, is battling a form of incurable bone cancer. “You are unsure of when the actual day will come, but he is a strong man and a very stubborn man and I think he'll be here for a little while longer,” Popovic said. — AP
