Des Smyth finished day one at the 71st Senior PGA Championship at Colorado Golf Club on two over par and in 43rd place with joint leaders Robin Freeman and Bernhard Langer setting the pace at 6 under.Smyth reached the turn level par having traded a bogey on his opening 10th hole with a birdie on the 3rd hole. The back nine though was more troublesome with dropped shots on holes 3, 4 and 6 with the only birdie on the 7th to sign for a 74.
For Bernhard Langer it was a spectacular first round on Thursday even with the wind kicking up to shot a 6 under par 66 to tie the course record set by his co leader, Robin Freeman, only an hour earlier. The leading players are two shots clear of Brad Bryant and Tom Lehman.
Freeman is one of golf’s journeymen and in 276 starts on the PGA Tour, the 51-year-old has yet to record a victory.
Among the big names who also struggled in the opening round were Tommy Armour III and John Cook, each with a 6-over 78, Sandy Lyle with an 8-over 80 and former champions Loren Roberts and Denis Watson, each with a 5-over 77.
Fred Couples, who won three of his first four Champions Tour events, is three under after carding a 33 on the front nine and 36 on the back nine to sign for a 69.
Colorado Golf Club is located in Parker, Colorado, in the south-eastern-most corner of the Denver Metropolitan area and sits at an elevation of 5,869 feet, well over one mile high.
