A new tournament . . . but a familiar leaderboard.

Three-time Bermuda Open champion P.H. Horgan, former Belmont Invitation winner and long-time return visitor Joe Carr and Canadian Joe Rinker all fired two-under-par 68s to share the lead on the opening day of the $40,000 Gosling?s Invitational at Belmont Hills yesterday.

Picking up where the hugely popular Invitation left off in 1999 when the Belmont Hotel was demolished and the Warwick course completely redesigned, the new event features many of the overseas pros who once made an annual pilgrimage to the Island for both this and next week?s Goodwill.

And familiar faces such Carr, Tim Conley and Ian Doig were all in the thick of the action yesterday when early morning torrential rain left greens soaked and bunkers flooded, only for bright sunshine to later provide benign, almost ideal, conditions.

But it was former PGA Tour player Horgan, a late entry who picked up his second successive Open crown just last month, Massachusetts veteran Carr, who won his first and only Invitation title back in 1982, and powerful young Canadian Rinker, who stole the early thunder on a course where distance off the tee means little and accuracy with the putter everything.

Their identical scores of 68 left them two shots clear of Belmont?s own pro Brian Morris, who had set the early pace with his even-par round of 70, and Kevin Morris and local amateur Winston Trott who also returned rounds of 70.

Five players ended the day at one-over 71, including the ailing Conley, Tucker?s Point pro Andrew Trott and amateur Hav Trott, a four-time winner of the Invitation between 1976 and 1981.

Doig, who won at Belmont in 1984, ?85 and ?87, fellow Canadian pro Dennis Hendershot and Bermuda?s 1992 winner Dwayne Pearman were among seven players on 72.

Brian Morris, who leads the local charge after yesterday?s opening salvos, and holds the course record of 63 which he fired earlier this year, was more than satisfied with his day?s work.

?I?m pretty happy,? he said. ?I had four bogeys and four birdies, I was hitting the ball quite well.

?It?s important on the first day that you don?t put yourself out of the tournament. There?s still three days to go and a lot of golf left, but I?m happy at the way I?m playing.

?I shot 63 round here three months ago, so I know that I can go low. But we?ll just see what happens.?

Conley, winner of more professional titles on the Island in the last two decades than any other local player or visitor, also had a smile on his face as left the 18th green.

?Happy? I?m tickled to death,? beamed Conley who was playing his first serious round of golf in six weeks after suffering a pinched nerve in the chest while competing in a Nationwide Tour event.

?Considering I didn?t even know whether I?d be able to a hit ball or not, I?ve got to be pleased with one over par.

?Since the injury, I?ve barely been able to hit the driver 200 yards. I?ve just been taking baby swings.

?I?ve been having steroid injections and doing exercises and it isn?t as painful as it was. But thankfully this tournament is at Belmont and not somewhere like Port Royal, which is a course I couldn?t really play in my current condition.?

The injury kept Conley out of this month?s PGA Tour Q-school, but he was back to his old ways yesterday ? deadly around what are now arguably the most treacherous greens of any Bermuda course.

?My chipping and putting was great today and that was key,? added the American. ?But this is day by day for me. There?s some good players here. PJ?s (Horgan) playing great and it?s going to be tough for me to contend. But you never know.

?I figured when I got the invitation to play I might be able to finish in the top few and get my money back. Hey, if I can keep it going, you just never know.?

Doig, who arrived at the weekend still celebrating his victory at last week?s Canadian Club Professional Championships in Port St. Lucie, Florida, was also satisfied with his round.

?I?m reasonably happy with today,? he commented. ?I?ve been travelling a lot since last week and I?m pretty tired.

?But from tee to green I?ve been playing as well as I ever have for the last 22 months.

?I probably left four or five shots out there today, but I?m only four shots off the lead so I?m not out of it yet.

?This course is all about chipping and putting . . . how you play from 60 yards in.

?It?s not going to be an easy one to win. There are a lot of good players like Joe Rinker and Dennis Hendershot, who both play a lot of tournament golf.

Hendershot hit out of bounds on 16 and might have been among those sharing the lead had he not missed a number of makeable putts.

? I?m very happy with the way I hit the golf ball,? said the Canadian, playing in his first Belmont tournament. ?I think I hit close to 14 greens. If the putter had been hot I would have been three or four under, minimum.

?It?s a short course but the greens here are very tough. No doubt putting going?s to decide the golf tournament this week, its not going to be ball striking.?