OLYMPIA FIELDS, ILL. -- Who knows if it can last? And really, who cares if it does? This United States Open already has its feel-good story for 2003. Twenty-one years after they teamed up for their dramatic win at the 1982 U.S. Open, Tom Watson and his ailing caddie, Bruce Edwards, gave the tournament an early jolt of electric emotion with an inspiring round of 65 to share the lead after 18 holes.

Watson alone is big news at the top of the leaderboard. But Edwards has become a story on his own because of his heroic battle with Lou Gehrig's disease, an incurable ailment of the spinal cord and lower brain stem.

Soon Edwards, 48, won't be able to serve as Watson's caddie, a position he's held proudly for 30 years, because his health is deteriorating rapidly. Now, when that day arrives, he'll have one, last empowering memory to sustain him.

"We're out there trying to take care of business (on the last hole) and he's crying and I'm crying," Watson said. "Bruce has been with me since 1973. This was a very special day."

Watson's storybook round at Olympia Fields included an eagle at the 12th hole on an iron shot from the fairway and then a putt that hung on the lip of the seventh hole for several seconds before falling into the cup.

It also included a mile of putts that fell and that's been Watson's Achilles heel the last few years.

"When we were leaving (his home) in Kansas City on Monday, Bruce ordered me to bring along my old Ping putter, one I had used to win a lot of tournaments many years ago," Watson said. "I used it for the first time in a while."

Watson is tied for the lead with Brett Quigley, whose father Dana competes regularly on the PGA Champions Tour with Watson.

"You look on the leaderboard and see Watson and Quigley and you think you're watching the Senior Tour," said Watson, laughing.

Justin Leonard and Jay Don Blake trail the co-leaders by one shot.

Cambridge native Ian Leggatt sits at two-under on a day when 24 players broke par, a rare feat at the Open.

Masters champion Mike Weir dug himself a bit of a hole by shooting three-over 73 to sit in a tie for 81st place in the 155-man field. Even amateur Canadian Chris Baryla beat him. Baryla was the second-low amateur on the day at two-over.

Defending champ Tiger Woods shot even-par 70 and sits in a tie for 25th.

Watson's round opened without a hint of what was to come. He bogeyed the 10th hole, parred the 11th then got kick-started at the 12th, a 458-yard par-4, when he knocked in his second shot with a six-iron.

He rolled in another birdie at 16, then another at No. 1 and then held at three-under until his amazing lip-hanger at the seventh.

"I'm walking up to it and thinking 'How can that not fall?' and then it fell in," he said.

He had one more birdie in him at the eighth when he nailed another long putt. Then he saved par at the ninth from a greenside bunker to finish at five- under-par.

Watson isn't sure if he can hold it all together for four rounds but he'll be giving it his best.

"When you get to be my age, you have a lot of worn-out parts," he said.

His heart isn't one of them.

LEADER CARDS

Par out 544 345 344-36

Quigley 444 244 444-34

Watson 444 345 234-33

Leonard 533 355 343-34

Blake 534 344 335-34

Leaney 544 344 344-35

Furyk 433 334 443-31

Par in 444 443 434-34-70

Quigley 543 333 334-31-65

Watson 542 443 334-32-65

Leonard 445 332 434-32-66

Blake 344 343 434-32-66

Leaney 445 342 424-32-67

Furyk 435 453 435-36-67

HOLE OF THE DAY

Hole: 7

Yardage: 212

Par: 3

Stroke average: 3.256

Rank: Sixth

Key fact: Tom Watson had the defining moment of the day when his 40-foot birdie putt hung on the lip of the cup for about six seconds before dropping in. The 53-year-old Watson kicked up his left leg and raised his arms in celebration, then bowed to a delirious gallery.