KA'UPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii >> Doug Tewell made a little history during yesterday's opening round of the $1.5 million MasterCard Championship. Tewell saves his aces
for tourneysBy Paul Arnett
parnett@starbulletin.comEn route to shooting a 5-under-par 67, Tewell had a hole-in-one at the eighth, marking the first time anyone has had an ace in the 19-year history of this event that moved to Hawaii in 1997.
Pulling a 4-iron from his bag, Tewell watched defending champion Larry Nelson hit his tee shot into the bunker guarding the green. He put that knowledge to good use, aiming a little more left on the par-3, 208-yard hole.
"Actually, I had made six on the par-5 before and looking to get that bogey out of my mind," Tewell said.
"That ace was No. 11 for me in my career and every one of them is on the tour. Never made one anywhere else. Never made one in practice. Never made one in college. It's my second on the Senior Tour.
"Larry got up and hit a not very good looking 4-iron into the bunker. But the hole fits me better because I hit the ball left to right. I just kind of aimed off the bunker there and let it move. It cut and I said, "Well, this is going to be pretty good.' And my caddy hollered, 'Go in!' It rolled a good 15 to 20 feet. That's kind of what we were playing for."
Let's go fly a Kite: Tom Kite erased a few names from the MasterCard Championship record book with his 9-under 63 that gave him a three-shot cushion over Nelson entering today's second round. The record-setting effort broke the scoring mark of 64 set by Hale Irwin in 1998.
It was matched by four other golfers, including twice by John Jacobs in 1999 and 2000, and Dr. Gil Morgan (1998). Fred Gibson matched that number last year, as did Nelson en route to winning the event by one shot over Jim Thorpe.
Kite's three-stroke margin matches the largest first-round lead in tournament history. The other players who led by three strokes after the first 18 holes were Don January (1987), Dale Douglass (1989), Dave Stockton (1994) and Jacobs (1999). January and Jacobs went on to win the event.
Kite's record round included eagles on the fourth and seventh holes. Kite also turned that trick in one round in his final event of the 2001 season at the Senior Tour Championship at Gaillardia and at the 2001 Gold Rush Classic.
Veriato draws even: Former Hilo resident Steve Veriato shot an even-par 72 yesterday and was among three players tied for 22nd. This is Veriato's first appearance in the winners-only event.
He carded his first Senior Tour victory at last year's Novell Utah Showdown in Park City. After attending St. Joseph High School, Veriato left the island chain to go to college at Texas A&M. He lives in Buda, Texas.
Solid rounds: Despite strong winds that greeted the players at the beginning of yesterday's round, 21 of the 33 golfers finished under par. A dozen players shot in the 60s. The field averaged 70.545 yesterday. After last year's opening round, that score was 70.250.
The most difficult hole yesterday was the par-4 ninth with an average score of 4.212. There were only two birdies and nine bogeys. The easiest hole was the par-5 fourth with an average score of 4.121. There were six eagles and 17 birdies at the hole. None of the 33 players in the field had a bogey.