Corey Pavin went on a back-nine birdie spree to grab the lead from a tightly packed field Friday in the opening round of the Allianz Championship.
Pavin birded seven holes on the backside of The Old Course at Broken Sound to finish with an 8-under-par 64. The sizzling 29 on the back nine left him two shots ahead of Australian Peter Senior, Fred Funk and Bernhard Langer. Five others were 5-under-par; at one point in the later stage of the round, nine players shared the lead.
Despite an all-night rain, the tournament got underway on time, and the course was in good shape.
“I think the rain helped. The greens are soft, so you can kind of throw it at the pin a little bit more,” Pavin said. “I remember the last couple years, when these greens get a little firm it’s pretty tough to score out here sometimes.
“It’s softer, but there’s a little bit of breeze, so that makes it a little tricky. That’s why there’s not a lot of low scores. The wind is its defense right now.”
Senior is looking to make another run at a title that slipped out of his grasp last year, when he took the lead into the final round but faded with a 77. He was was runner-up three times in 2011 and had 12 top-10 finishes in 22 starts. Playing with 17-year-old son Mitchell as caddie, Senior had six birdies in a bogey-free round.
“The only goal I’ve got this year is I want to win. It would be nice to get it out of the road early,” Senior said. “I’m playing OK and I feel good about my game. Maybe Sunday might turn around the other way this time around.”
Funk was happy to be playing – and playing well – in his first tournament in six months following surgery to fuse his left thumb in position that he can grip a club.
“It was a really good day. I hit the ball pretty solid. My thumb actually felt really good today,” Funk said. “Overall I’m extremely please. I just feel happy to be back.”
Pavin has finished in the top 20 on the Champions Tour money list the past two years, but is looking for his first victory. He had 15 wins on the PGA Tour, most recently at Milwaukee in 2006.
“One thing you’ve got to realize out here is almost all the guys on the Champions Tour are guys that have won throughout their career. They know how to win golf tournaments. I think it’s harder to win out here than it is on the regular tour, in that respect,” Pavin said.
In his Milwaukee win, Pavin set a PGA Tour record for nine holes with an 8-under 26. His 29 on Friday was 6-under-par. His total for the round was one shot off his career-low 9-under 63 in the second round of the 2010 Cap Cana Championship in the Dominican Republic.
“Things just fall into place. The less I think about what Im doing and what I’m shooting, the easier it is. You start thinking, ‘Gosh, I’ve made all these birdies,’ that’s when you’re going to screw up for sure.”
West Palm Beach resident Dana Quigley is playing in his first tournament since his 27-year-old son Devon was seriously injured in a car accident Dec. 1. Devon remains in a coma. Quigley finished the round at 75, 3-over-par, with birdies on two of his last three holes.
Funk’s wife and caddie, Sharon, is donating her caddie earnings from the tournament to help with Devon Quigley’s medical expenses. Fred Funk said players will join in a fund-raising effort later this year.
“He has a trremendous amount of expenses. With no insurance, it’s pretty scary. It could devastate the family financially. It’s already devastating as it is,” Funk said. “As a family that we are out here, we’re going to do everthying we can to help them.”
This is the sixth consecutive year at Broken Sound for the tournament, which continues through Sunday. Defending champion Tom Lehman played Friday in a group with Tequesta’s Mark Calcavecchia, whom he edged for the 2011 Player of the Year title by 74 points in the closest race since 2008.
Lehman was tied for 40th with a 71. Calcavecchia, who had an eagle on No. 11, was among the group at 67.
Andy Bean played his first competitive round since being involved in an auto accident last July near his home in Lakeland. He shot a 2-over 74.
The Allianz is the first full-field event of the season, with $1.8 million in prize money at stake. Seven members of the World Golf Hall of Fame are in the field: Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Bernhard Langer, Nick Price, Curtis Strange and Larry Nelson.
