The early first round leaders out on the course in the PGA Seniors Championship at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, yesterday were former fellow European Ryder Cup team members in 1983, a tournament which was coincidentally played over the same course, PGA National.
Bernard Gallacher, thanks to an eagle at the second hole where he holed out from a fairway bunker 198 yards from the green, reached the turn in four-under-par and at that stage was the leader, just one shot ahead of his former colleague, Spain's Jose Maria Canizares.
Eleventh on the senior money list in America last year with more than $1 million in earnings, Canizares, although he dropped shots at the 10th and 12th, handed in a four-under-par 68 to be the early clubhouse leader. Gallagher could only come back in 41 shots to finish with a 73.
Galway's Christy O'Connor had a torrid time in the strong, blustery wind, and despite of making four birdies could only manage a four-over-par 76 on his senior debut in the United States.
Northern Ireland's Eddie Polland shot even par 72, complaining that he had great difficulty reading the greens.
"I left at least five shots out on the golf course," said Polland, now a permanent resident in southern Spain.
David Jones, Northern Ireland's other entrant in this prestigious tournament, returned a 75, a score matched by veteran South African Gary Player (63).
Canizares' return was pushed into second place in the middle of the day by a remarkable 66 from 55-year-old Utah native Bruce Summerhays, a man who never competed on the PGA tour before becoming a senior.
