Mike Hulbert, in his first competitive round of the year, surprised himself by shooting a tournament-leading eight-under-par 63 in the first round of the Phoenix Open yesterday. Hulbert was a stroke ahead of Steve Stricker and Brent Geiberger after the first day at the TPC at Scottsdale.

Defending champion Steve Jones, who won by 11 strokes last year, was at six-under 65 along with David Duval and Larry Rinker.

A 30-minute frost delay at the start of the round forced the tournament to suspend play for darkness with five players still on the course. Larry Mize, at two under, was the leading player among the groups stranded.

Hulbert had eight birdies and no bogeys in his round, which he played with a brand new set of irons. "I'd played with my old set for five years. The grooves were just about gone. I got this new set on Tuesday and they felt great. I just told myself that I was going to act like they'd been in the bag for a year and a half," said Hulbert.

He hit his new pitching wedge to six inches for birdie on the first hole, then struck a sand wedge to five inches for his next birdie on the third hole. In all, his new irons gave him eight birdie putts inside of 15 feet.

"This being the first round of the year, I kept my expectations fairly calm, but that was probably one of the best rounds I've ever played, as far as hitting the ball, putting and managing," said Hulbert.