International Golf : 2 Chip-Ins Make Day for Lietzke

Bruce Lietzke chipped in on each of the last two holes and led the advance through the second half of first-round play Thursday in the International golf tournament.

“Luck played a big part in today’s round,” Lietzke said after he chipped in from 40 feet for an eagle-3 on the 17th, and holed another chip from about 25 feet for par on the 18th.

Those two chips completed a round of six-under-par 66 on the Castle Pines Golf Club.

Scoring in this tournament, however, is based on a modified Stableford system in which points are awarded or subtracted depending on a player’s performance on each hole.

An eagle is worth 5 points, a birdie 2, par zero, a bogey minus-1 and a double bogey minus-3 or higher.

Lietzke’s effort converted to a score of 14 points, the best of the mild, partly cloudy day that produced a late-afternoon thunderstorm.

Lietzke’s leading score was worth $10,000 from the “day” money that is being awarded for the first time this year.

“The day money definitely kept our attention out there,” Lietzke said. “I remember last year, I had an eight-footer for eagle on the 17th, and I already had enough points to qualify, so I didn’t really care whether I made the putt or not. This time, I was grinding on it.”

Second-round play will be held today, with 78 players--including 39 who qualified Wednesday--competing for 54 places in the third round.