PGA Tour Champions: Woody Austin grabs an early lead at the SAS Championship
Woody Austin owns the early lead at the SAS Championship, this weekend’s PGA Tour Champions event in Cary, North Carolina. Austin is seeking his fifth career victory on the senior circuit as he fired an opening-round 66, good for 6-under par and a one-shot lead at the Prestonwood Country Club – Highlands Course.
The Tampa, Florida, native more than made up for a bogey on the fourth hole with seven birdies — two of them coming late on No. 17 and No. 18. He credits his short game with keeping him in it, especially early.
“I putted better than I have putted in a long time for the first nine holes,” said Austin, 56. “First nine holes I looked like Brad Faxon out there today. It was a bad start, but the putter kept me in the game. Then I finally started to hit some good shots.”
One shot back of Austin is the duo of Gene Sauers and Corey Pavin, who both carded 65. Sauers, from Savannah, Georgia, kept himself clean but managed just one birdie in the first 11 holes. The 58-year old vaulted himself into contention by calmly depositing an uphill eagle putt at No. 17. So far, he has only won once on the PGA Tour Champions.
SAS CHAMPIONS: Leaderboard
Pavin, 60, is the most decorated of the three. The Oxnard, California, native has 15 PGA Tour victories under his belt and was named the 1991 PGA Tour Player of the Year. Like Sauers, he is looking for his second Champions Tour victory and went bogey-free on the day. Of his five birdies, three of them came at the par-3 holes (No. 3, No. 8 and No. 11).
“You know, I like this golf course,” Pavin said despite his inconsistent play at Prestonwood in earlier years. “I thought with the bent greens they were — it was like dartboards and now you’ve got to really think about your iron shots and what it’s going to do once it hits the green. You’ve got to shape your shots.
“Today, I just went out and just tried to play golf and not worry about anything but try to hit my golf shots and wherever it went, it went. Just kind of went from there and it worked out OK.”
Rounding out the top six are Kirk Triplett, Marco Dawson and Colin Montgomerie, who find themselves T-4 at 4-under. Triplett faltered out of the gate with bogeys at the first and third, but righted the ship with six subsequent birdies. The Moses Lake, Washington, native owns eight PGA Tour Champions wins.
Dawson, an American born in Freising, Germany, played a very different round from Triplett. The 56-year old ripped off six birdies, four in the front nine, but set himself back with a frustrating double bogey at No. 13. He has a chance to win his third Champions Tour event this weekend.
Montgomerie of Glasgow, Scotland, has been prolific abroad, with 35 of his 42 international wins coming on the European Tour (good for third all-time on that circuit). He has seven PGA Tour Champions victories and counting to add to that resume.
Like Triplett, Montgomerie had to overcome early bogeys at the third and sixth, but did the job with six birdies. The 57-year old is poised to push his American counterparts for the title at Prestonwood. Round 2 of the SAS Championship will take place on Saturday.
