Vaughan takes day one at U.S. Senior Open
All eyes were on Fred Couples and Tom Watson as they made their way around the Sahalee Country Club golf course for the U.S. Senior Open. Lining up six or seven deep to catch a glimpse of the golf legends, not many people were aware that Bruce Vaughan was steadily working his way to the top of the leaderboard. Vaughan took the first day lead after shooting four-under 66 with a two stroke lead.
Vaughan teed off early and took advantage of the cool morning conditions. He was one of the lucky players to avoid getting caught under or on top of the canopy of trees that engulfs the Pacific Northwest course. He managed to play a steady game over all. On the back nine he grabbed birdies on the second, third and sixth holes. His bogey occurred on the par-three ninth and was his final hole of the day.
"More shocked probably than anything," Vaughan said when asked about how he felt about the lead. "I did everything you were supposed to do. It was nothing crazy . . . It's just the first day. I mean, there is a lot of golf left and a lot of trouble out there for the next three days.”
Vaughan triumphed at the 2008 Senior British Open, his one and only victory on the Champions Tour. On Thursday he had two bogeys while native son and favorite Couples was much shakier.
The Sahalee course is 20 miles away from where Couples grew up. The 50-year-old has been in the spotlight since practice rounds began earlier this week and shot an even-par 70 for his first round.
"I think the score I shot is phenomenal," Couples said. "I would have taken 70 before the round started. ... I was very, very mediocre. I don't know what else to tell you. I can tell you I birdied three holes in a row, three good holes.”
Couples nearly saw his round unravel on the 10th hole where he was stuck in a fern brush at the base of two cedar trees. He had to take an unplayable lie, after which he bogeyed. Couples fell to three over after the next two holes but miraculously turned his luck around with consecutive birdies to salvage the round. This is Couples first Senior Open.
The Sahalee course was no easy one and many players struggled on the firm greens and with the sprawling limbs of low hanging cedar, pine, and fir trees. Only eight of the 156 players finished under par. Mark Calcavecchia and British Senior Open winner Bernhard Langer were the only players in the afternoon to make it under par with 69’s. When the morning clouds receded the sun blared down on the course, the greens firmed up and became much faster. Thursday’s first round saw the fewest sub-par scores since 2003 at Inverness where only four players achieved it.
Calcavecchia got a favorable bounce when he glanced his side-hill second shot at the 18th hole off one of the greenside trees. The ball landed just short of the green and Calcavecchia was able to putt it into the hole for birdie.
"This is probably the hardest pin placements I've seen in years. It was tough,” Calcavecchia said of his lucky shot. Despite the troublesome terrain he is quiet impressed with the skill level of his competitors: “It seems like the top 100 players in the world were here, rather than a 156 old guys."
The 2009 Senior Open round one leader Tim Jackson shot 68 along with Loren Roberts. Joe Ozaki was a stroke behind Calcavecchia and Langer. He hit a tee shot off the par-five second hole that carried 50 yards before landing on a tree limb; Ozaki still managed par.
Defending champion Fred Funk was far off the leaderboard, shooting 76 after his first round while Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin had 72. Watson and Couples teed off at 8am; Watson was aggressive at first but admitted the jet lag of travelling from the British Open caught up with him which is one of the reasons he finished with 70.
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