NEWS

Senior leads inaugural Pacific Links Hawaii Championship after first round

By Associated Press
Published on
Senior leads inaugural Pacific Links Hawaii Championship after first round

KAPOLEI, Hawaii -- Australia's Peter Senior shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Champions Tour's inaugural Pacific Links Hawaii Championship.

Winless in 65 starts in three seasons on the 50-and-over tour, the 53-year-old Senior birdied seven of the first 13 holes and closed with five pars in breezy afternoon conditions.

"It'd be nice to have a win," Senior said. "I've come close."

Senior has five runner-up finishes on the tour, losing three playoffs. He won the 2010 Australian PGA Championship for the last of his 27 regular international victories, and also won the 2010 Australian Senior Open.

"It was a good hitting round and I putted extremely well for the first 15 holes," Senior said. "I wish it was that easy every day. ... I drove it well, which sets up this course. You've got to be coming from the fairway on a lot of your iron shots to get a little bit of spin. ... These are exactly the same conditions I play in every day at home. The wind comes up in the afternoon."

Jay Don Blake and Bill Glasson were tied for second. Blake, coming off a victory three weeks ago in the Boeing Classic, finished with eight straight pars after making six birdies in an eight-hole stretch.

Mark McNulty and Eduardo Romero shot 67, and Charles Schwab Cup leader Tom Lehman was another stroke back along with Duffy Waldorf and Willie Wood.

Waldorf is making his second senior start. The four-time PGA Tour winner tied for eighth in the Boeing Classic.

"I felt good out there today and hit a lot of good shots," Waldorf said. "I ran into a little trouble there at the end, but all in all, it was a real nice round."