Golf-Birdie blitz lifts Mallinger into tie for Viking lead

NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) - American John Mallinger produced a sizzling burst of six consecutive birdies to charge into a five-way tie for the early lead in the Viking Classic first round in Madison County, Mississippi on Thursday.

In pursuit of his first victory on the PGA Tour, the 31-year-old Californian took advantage of rain-softened conditions and preferred lies on the fairways to card a seven-under-par 65 at Annandale Golf Club.

Mallinger launched his birdie run at the par-four ninth before ending the round level with compatriot Tim Petrovic, Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jonge, Australian Peter Lonard and South Korean Kang Sung-hoon.

Three more Americans—Hunter Haas, Chez Reavie and Michael Connell - opened with matching 66s.

“It was just a good stretch of holes,” Mallinger told reporters of his birdie barrage around the turn. “I made a lot of putts today. Nine birdies and a couple of bogeys. I played solid.

“It’s always good to get off to a good start. I’ve been playing well, I just haven’t been scoring that well.”

Mallinger, whose best PGA Tour finish was a runner-up spot at the 2009 Milwaukee Championship, relished being able to lift, clean and replace his ball on fairways left muddy by overnight rain.

“You get the ball in your hand, and it’s a little bit easier,” he said. “You can be a little more aggressive at the flag. We’re getting a lot of mud on the balls.”

De Jonge, who tied for third in last year’s Viking Classic, recorded seven birdies in a flawless display after being grouped with Americans Reavie and Tommy Gainey for the first two rounds.

“The whole group played well,” said de Jonge, who shared seventh place at last week’s John Deere Classic. “We definitely helped each other. We made a bunch of birdies in the group, and that kept the momentum going.

“I played nicely today. I kept it in play most of the day and gave myself a lot of birdie looks. It’s rained just about every day so the course is going to be soft and the scoring is going to be good.”

Gainey, at 42nd, is the highest-ranked player on the 2011 PGA Tour’s money list at Annandale and he fired an opening 67.

With most of the game’s leading players in England for this week’s British Open at Royal St. George’s, the field at the Viking Classic is relatively weak.