Jim Furyk and Greg Kraft found a way.
Furyk shot a 6-under 64, the best round in days at Omaha Country Club, to take a two-stroke lead over Stephen Ames. The 2003 U.S. Open champion and 17-time PGA Tour winner rebounded from an opening 72 to get to 4 under.
âI was able to see some putts go in, and I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens today, kept the ball in good places,â Furyk said. âWhen I missed it, I missed it in the right spots for the most part. Just really kind of got on a roll and got some momentum.â
Eric Olson
Ernie Els waves to the gallery during the first round of the U.S. Senior Open golf championship at Omaha Country Club in Omaha, Neb., on Thursday, July 8, 2021. (Anna Reed/Omaha World-Herald via AP) July 08, 2021 - 6:04 PM
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) â Canada s Stephen Ames and Billy Andrade shot 5-under 65s on Thursday to share the first-round lead in the U.S. Senior Open.
Ames, from Calgary, had seven birdies and two bogeys in the morning session. Andrade had five birdies and no bogeys on an Omaha Country Club course that dried out after the sun broke through and the wind came up in the afternoon.
Hitting fairways at any United States Golf Association event is always a good strategy and Stephen Ames did just that move out to a first-round lead at the U.S. Senior Open. The Canadian hit 12 of 14 fairways en route to a 5-under 65, good for a share of the first-round lead with American Billy Andrade.
“I missed two fairways today,” said Ames, “nine and 18. That’s pretty good.”
Keeping the ball on the short grass at the Omaha Country Club allowed Ames to make seven birdies in his round, suffering bogeys on the fifth and 17th holes.
“I think in any U.S. Open you have to hit a lot of fairways,” said Ames, “depending on the length of the golf course but it helps for sure.”
Andrade, Ames shoot 65s for 1st-round lead at US Senior Open >Stephen Ames tees off on the 17th hole during the first round of the U.S. Senior Open golf championship at Omaha Country Club in Omaha, Neb., on Thursday, July 8, 2021. (Anna Reed/Omaha World-Herald via AP) Anna Reed >Bernhard Langer tees off during the first round of the U.S. Senior Open golf championship at Omaha Country Club in Omaha, Neb., on Thursday, July 8, 2021. (Anna Reed/Omaha World-Herald via AP) Anna Reed >Spectators move about the course during the first round of the U.S. Senior Open golf championship at Omaha Country Club in Omaha, Neb., on Thursday, July 8, 2021. (Anna Reed/Omaha World-Herald via AP) Anna Reed
Ames hit 11 of 13 fairways and 16 greens in regulation on the 6,891-yard course set in the rolling hills on the north side of the city. He birdied five of seven holes in the middle of the round before missing short birdie putts on Nos. 12 and 13.
Ames made a 15-footer for birdie on the par-4 No. 14 and hit a 6-iron to 4 inches on the downhill, 223-yard par-3 No. 15. But the 57-year-old naturalized Canadian citizen from Trinidad three-putted from 8 feet for bogey on the par-4 17th and came in at 32. I’m like, ’Whoa, could have been a lot lower on the back nine, which is unfortunate, said Ames, whose highest finish in a senior major was a tie for third in the 2018 Senior British Open.