Rookie among leaders
SENIOR PGA Tour: CLEMMONS, N.C. (Sept. 29) -- Bob Dickson recently sent in his application for the Senior PGA Tour qualifying school. That's an indictment of his game this year and not necessarily his chances of winning the Vantage Championship.
Dickson, who has no top-10 finishes on the 50-and-over circuit this season and appears headed back to Q-school for the fifth time, shot a 5-under 65 Friday to share the first-round lead with little-known Dean Overturf and Isao Aoki.
Overturf, a rookie on tour, had a hole-in-one to key his career-low round at 6,600-yard Tanglewood Park.
"At least for Friday I resembled a shot maker, unlike the previous six months," Dickson said. "I am going to try to get out my copy machine. It felt good today."
One shot behind the leaders in the $1.5 million event were leading money winner Larry Nelson, Gil Morgan, Jim Dent, Bruce Summerhays and Howard Twitty.
Nelson is the hottest player on tour, winning three of his last four events. His opening-round 66 helped him tie the senior tour mark of 27 straight rounds of par or better. Three others share that record.
Despite his recent success, Nelson was working on the practice tee Thursday to lesson his grip.
"I tried to hit a couple of cut shots and I actually hit pulls, and that's usually a sign to me that things are not quite right," said Nelson, who has won five times and earned $2.27 million. "I could still be out at the practice tee."
Meanwhile, Dickson went to the first tee Friday armed with a new driver and putter he picked up during Thursday's pro-am. He figured he didn't have much to lose since he's 68th on the money list with five tourneys left.
"So far the warranty is in effect on both of them. They are both working," Dickson said of his new clubs.
Dickson's highlight was a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 13.
"That putt probably added up to all the putts I've made this month," he said.
The 56-year-old Dickson said he started the year out hitting the ball better than he had in his previous six seasons, but then he hit the skids in late March.
"I've had my down moments this year," Dickson said. "I started out hitting it straighter and longer than I ever have out here. Then about the ninth tournament I bumped up against the off switch and I haven't been able to find that on switch again.'
Dickson and Overturf, the first player off No. 1, each had 3-under 32s on the back nine. Overturf's was keyed by an ace on the 190-yard 13th hole.
"My hole-in-one was just one of the purest golf shots I've ever hit," said Overturf, who is 69th on the money list and never won on the senior tour. "As soon as it left my club, I told my caddie that it was as good as I could hit it."
Overturf was correct. The ball hit about 10 feet short of the hole and rolled in. He also had two on Nos. 3 and 17 to go 4-under on the par 3s.
Overturf was the only golfer to get to 6-under, but hit a poor bunker shot on the 18th and settled for a bogey 6.
Defending champion Fred Gibson shot a 2-over 72.
"Different course, different player," Gibson said of the layout that is playing longer than in 1999 when he shot a record-tying three-round total of 195.
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