Lightning quickly delayed the primary spherical of the Principal Charity Classic, however didn’t gradual Steve Stricker, who opened with a bogey-free 64 on Friday in pursuit of his third consecutive victory on the PGA Tour Champions.
Stricker is at 8 below, two pictures forward of a trio of gamers, includingthe previous two champions, Jerry Kelly (2022) and Stephen Ames (2021) of Canada, at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa.
After six birdies and one eagle, on the par-5 No. 15, Stricker had his fiftieth straight spherical of par or higher on the tour, extending his all-time report courting again to 2022.
He was requested afterward within the media session if he’s “in the zone.”
“I have no idea what that zone is,” mentioned Stricker, 56. “I’ve got my head down, I’m just trying to hit the next shot as good as I can and go from there. I’m really in a good spot mentally I think more than anything. I’m just concentrating. I want to play well, I want to get up there and try to win. I’m grinding and trying to do that.”
Stricker is coming off of victories at back-to-back senior majors, the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Ala., on May 14 and the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship final weekend in Frisco, Texas.
“After last week I went home for a couple of days, (I) didn’t touch a club,” he mentioned. “I’ve been kind of getting away from the game, too. Even though I’ve been playing a lot, I’ve been taking a good two, sometimes all the three days prior to the next event off and then feeling pretty fresh and ready to go again come tournament time again, and that was no different this week.”
A victory for Stricker this week would make the tenth event a golfer has gained three straight begins on the PGA Tour Champions. He could be the primary to do it twice, having gained three in a row on the Stanford International on Sept. 18, 2022; the Constellation Furyk Friends on Oct. 9, 2022; and the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai on Jan. 21.
Kelly, like Stricker is 56, and on Friday was additionally bogey free. He carded six birdies at Nos. 2, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12.
The climate delay of 1 hour and 34 minutes within the afternoon did not assist him, he acknowledged. He concluded his spherical with six straight pars.
“No, I can’t wind it back up,” Kelly mentioned. “I tried not to eat too much, and I didn’t. I tried to go to the trailer and stretch, but I’m an adrenaline guy and I couldn’t find that adrenaline coming back out, I was just kind of blah. It is what it is.”
Rod Pampling of Australia moved right into a tie for second at 6 below with a 66 — tying his low spherical of the season. The 53-year-old began on the again 9 and birdied Nos. 11, 12, 15, 5, 8 and 9.
Ames opened with a birdie at No. 1 and added 5 extra at Nos. 7, 8, 13, 17 and 18.
Five gamers are tied for fifth after one spherical with every capturing a 5-under 67 — Americans Tim Herron and Steve Flesch, Mark Hensby of Australia, Fiji’s Vijay Singh and Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez.
–Field Level Media