Five players trail by one
Senior PGA Tour: KAANAPALI, Hawaii (Oct. 20) -- Bruce Summerhays shot a 5-under 66 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over five players after the first round of the EMC Kaanapali Classic.
Jim Thorpe, seeking his third straight victory, opened with a 69 on the Kaanapali Golf Club's North course.
Dale Douglass, Chuck Moran, Dave Eichelberger, Joe Inman and Japan PGA Tour regular Stewart Ginn shot 67s, and Bill Brask and Jose Maria Canizares were a stroke back at 68.
Defending champion Bruce Fleisher matched Thorpe's 69.
With a flock of family members looking on and another serving as caddie, Summerhays overcame gusting wind to birdie four of the last nine holes.
Summerhays was among the early starters at the oceanside course and started slowly, managing only one birdie on the front nine. But after making the turn, he birdied the 10th and 11th and then the 15th and 16th to complete a bogey-free round.
"We've got 21 people here," the former Stanford coach said of the Summerhays contingent. "It's a caddie conference. They all take turns."
His daughter, Shelly, is toting the bag this week.
On the course, Summerhays said he was helped by good fortune.
"I got a great break on 15," he said. "I pull-hooked it and the ball landed between the curb and road on a small strip of grass about a foot inbounds."
He chipped within 8 feet to set up his birdie.
"That second shot was probably the best chip shot I hit all year," he said.
A windy start also helped, Summerhays said.
"I had a 7 o'clock tee time and the wind was howling," Summerhays said. "Everybody's going to be playing under the same conditions so that's nice."
The field of 76 Senior PGA Tour players are vying for $1.1 million, with the winner getting $165,000. The tournament is sponsored by EMC, an information storage system company.
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