Posted at 12:26 p.m., Friday, October 19, 2007
Golf: O'Meara takes first-round lead on Champions Tour
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — Champions Tour rookie Mark O'Meara made a successful return to the site of one of his PGA Tour victories, shooting an 8-under 63 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the AT&T Championship.O'Meara had an eagle, eight birdies and two bogeys at Oak Hills Country Club, the A.W. Tillinghast-designed course where he closed with a 63 to win the 1990 Texas Open.
He made a 13-foot eagle putt on the 523-yard, par-5 15th and chipped in for birdie on the par-3 18th after pulling his tee shot by a grandstand.
John Cook, making his second Champions Tour start, and Wayne Levi were two strokes back after bogey-free 65s. Defending champion Fred Funk, Tom Kite, Tom Purtzer and 2003 champion Craig Stadler opened with 66s, and Walter Hall, Mark James, Gil Morgan, Lonnie Nielsen, Scott Simpson shot 67s.
O'Meara has three second-place finishes in his first season on the Champions Tour, including last week when he was eight strokes behind Bernhard Langer at the Administaff Small Business Classic in Spring.
Langer, the winner last week with a Champions Tour-record 54-hole score, had two double bogeys Friday en route to a 5-over 76.
R.W. Eaks, a two-time winner this year, bogeyed three of his first five holes before withdrawing because of a knee injury. He also withdrew last week.
