Kuramoto Sets Pace at Senior PGA Championship


Japan's Massy Kuramoto was the only player to break par Thursday during a chilly opening round of the Senior PGA Championship. The $2.75 million major - the second in a week on the Champions Tour - is taking place at the Pete Dye Course in French Lick, Ind.

The 59-year-old Kuramoto, a native of Hiroshima and a 30-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, carded three birdies and two bogeys on a course that proved difficult for the world's best over-50 players.

Trailing Kuramoto by a stroke are Americans Billy Andrade and Bart Bryant, Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, England's Barry Lane and Frenchman Jean Francois Remesy. Montgomerie is the defending champion.

Beginning with 1-over 73s were club pros Jerry Haas and Lee Rinker and fellow American touring pros Guy Boros, Tom Lehman, Jeff Hart, Tom Pernice Jr., Scott Verplank, Jerry Smith, Russ Cochran, Woody Austin, Duffy Waldorf, Japan's Kiyoshi Murota, South African David Frost and Germany's Bernhard Langer.

In addition to the cool and damp weather, the 156 players in the field coped with a course that has been stretched to 7,147 yards. On the eve of the tournament, Fred Funk said of the layout, "It's a tough hombre. It's the hardest course I've ever played. It's a big mental battle."

The weather is expected to improve over the next three days. PGA of America officials, which run the championship, might also move some of the tees up to shorten the course's yardage.

Another 10 players posted 74s, while others - including major winners Mark O'Meara, Hale Irwin and Sandy Lyle - had 75s.

Jeff Maggert, the winner of last week's major, the Regions Tradition, shot a 76, a score matched by Welshman Ian Woosnam, who secured his maiden title on the over-50 circuit, in early May at the Insperity Invitational.

Joe Daley, Hal Sutton and John Huston withdrew before the start of the first round due to various health issues.

For all the scores, visit http://www.pga.com/seniorpga/scoring/leaderboard.