Tom Kite takes the opening round lead at the US Senior Open
Tom Kite scored five birdies and an amazing eagle on Thursday, en route to an impressive round of five-under par 65 for a one-stroke lead at the US Senior Open, at the Indianwood Golf and Country Club.
Kite’s record breaking front nine score of 28 took him to the front early in the morning. He held the lead for almost the entire day, while his rivals struggled all day.
"It was a lot of fun. You don't get rounds like that very often, especially in major championships," Kite said. "The hole just seemed large, and I was hitting some nice shots and obviously getting some nice breaks".
He will now have to keep his momentum going into Friday, as Bernhard Langer, who hit 17 green in regulation, and Lance Ten Broeck are each standing right behind him on the leaderboard after carding 66’s.
For the last four years, he has not been able to sit atop the leaderboard after four rounds of any tournament. Therefore, he is now in a very good position to end his winning drought on the Champions Tour.
Moreover, it will be a perfect time for a win, as it will add another major title to his shelf – something that he awaited for years.
He has always been a strong contender at the senior major events. However, he succeeded in taking home only one title —The Countrywide Tradition in 2000.
According to the golf commentators, he needs to be consistent in his performance, as he displayed totally a different ball game on the back nine of the course compared to what he did on the front nine.
Starting from the 10th hole, he parred seven consecutive holes prior to stumbling on the 17th, when he had to suffer a double bogey.
"This golf course is tough enough that it will bite you," said Kite. "Nobody's going to play 72 holes out here without having it jump up on a hole or two and kick 'em in the rear. It got me on 17 today. There are just some places that if you miss it, you're
going to pay the penalty".
In the meantime, Langer surged into contention after an impressive back nine score of 31. He remained at even par until he birdied the 11th hole, followed by three consecutive birdies, staring from the 13th hole.
Olin Browne, the defending champion, shared the 15th spot with a one-under par score.
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