Hitting their mark

Purtzer leads a field of low-scoring seniors

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KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii » If you didn't land in the red during yesterday's opening round of the $1.8 million MasterCard Championship, you were practically alone.

Leaderboard Name Score To Par Tom Purtzer 62 -10 Allen Doyle 63 -9 Jim Thorpe 63 -9 D.A. Weibring 64 -8

Led by first-round leader Tom Purtzer's 10-under 62, there were 35 golfers who shot under par and only two who finished as high as 1 over for the day. Despite the solid start, Purtzer holds only a one-shot advantage over Jim Thorpe and Allen Doyle, and is two shots clear of D.A. Weibring, who began his year with an 8-under 64.

There were five golfers in at 7-under 65, including two-time Champions Tour Player of the Year Jay Haas, and another seven golfers in at 6-under 66. Jerry Pate is one of those 6 under for his round. After opening with a woeful 1-over 37, Pate shot a blistering 7-under 29 on the back that included five birdies and one eagle.

Tour rookie Bernhard Langer also shot a 66, with Fred Funk among eight golfers who managed rounds of 5-under 67. The scoring average of 67.537 was the lowest opening 18 holes in the history of this event. The golfers were greeted by partly cloudy skies and little wind, leaving the Hualalai Golf Club practically defenseless.

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KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii » If you didn't shoot in the mid-60s during yesterday's opening round of the $1.8 million MasterCard Championship, you have little chance of playing for the trophy tomorrow.

With no wind and perfect greens at the Hualalai Golf Club, nearly everyone took dead aim at the pins, as eight golfers shot 7 under or better, including first-day leader Tom Purtzer, who managed the best opening 18 holes in MasterCard history with a 10-under 62.

Purtzer generated eight birdies, one eagle and no bogeys to take a one-shot lead over Jim Thorpe (63) and Allen Doyle (63), and a two-shot advantage over D.A. Weibring (64). Only six golfers didn't land in red numbers, and 16 are within four shots of the lead, including two-time Champions Tour Player of the Year Jay Haas (65), rookie Bernhard Langer (66), and Tom Watson (66), who has never won in Hawaii in 31 previous tournaments.

Despite a bad left elbow that required a cortisone shot only 11 days ago, Purtzer drove the ball well and putted even better en route to his 13th consecutive sub-par round here at the Jack Nicklaus-designed par-72 course. Because of the shot, Purtzer was limited in what he could do preparation-wise, but he can't complain about the results.

"It helps my scoring average if I could just stop right now," Purtzer said. "Probably the biggest thing is I drove the ball good today. Obviously the scores are low because the course was pretty defenseless.

"There wasn't much wind to protect anything and the scoring conditions were just perfect. And when the golf course is in as good of condition as this one is, the scores are going to be low. A round like today does a lot for your confidence."

Even with the stellar performance, Purtzer was unable to separate himself from a field of 41 golfers that boasts seven Hall of Famers, including Lee Trevino, who opened with a 1-under 71. Thorpe had a hiccup with a bogey at the 17th after his tee shot just found the edge of the lava field guarding the oceanside green.

He finished in a tie for second here last year to defending champion Hale Irwin (72) and had a chance to shoot 59 if he hadn't lost his way for a few holes on the back side. And while he wasn't thinking of breaking 60 after going 7 under through 10 holes, he does believe you have to make six or seven birdies every round to have a chance to pocket the $300,000 first prize.

"The golf course has kind of dried out and the ball is going a long way," Thorpe said. "The scores are going to be lower this year. I don't know if anybody is going to go as low as Hale shot last year (193), but if you look at the leaderboard you don't see many rounds over par."

And don't forget about the slimmed-down Doyle. He lost 20 pounds last fall while his wife was on the popular NutriSystem diet. He and Thorpe were paired together and fed off each other throughout the day. Thorpe opened with a 30 on the front and closed with a 33 on the back. Doyle had a 33 over the opening nine holes and shot 30 on the closing nine, including a birdie on the last.

Still, Purtzer conceded it would be tough to come back and play today after opening with a 62. He believes the key for him will to keep driving the ball well and giving himself opportunities for easy birdies. Yesterday, the longest birdie putt he made was 10 feet and even the eagle he sank at the par-5 7th was only 15 feet. He also had the longest drive of the day; 336 yards at the par-5 10th.

"I'm comfortable with my putter and if I can keep driving the ball good, I like my chances," Purtzer said.