DEFENDING champion Greg Norman of Australia and PGA Tour rookie Joe Daley shared the first round lead of the Greater Hartford Open after shooting six under par 64s at the TPC at River Highlands, Connecticut, yesterday. They led veteran journeyman Bob Gilder by two strokes.

Norman played the front nine in four under 31, had his only bogey of the day on the 12th hole, then finished well with birdies on three of the last four holes.

The longest of those last three birdie putts was a four footer which Norman described as the best stroke of the day. "It was perfect, the best putt I've made in a month. When you put a perfect stroke on it, it's equally satisfying whether you hit it 320 yards or four feet."

Unlike Norman, who won by two strokes here last year and lost by a shot in 1994, the course layout is unfamiliar territory to Joe Daley. "John Daly?" asked Norman, echoing a common question. "Oh, Joe Daley. I don't know him."

There's no reason why the world's number one player would know Daley, a lanky and quiet man who has missed as many cuts as he has made this year. He currently lies 196th on the money list.

Daley, in his first year on the PGA Tour, had the first eagle of his Tour career yesterday, holing a pitching wedge from 125 yards on the par four 17th, in past years the course's toughest hole.