Galleries boom in first round

Bryce Alderton

Spectators flocked to Newport Beach Country Club for Friday’s first

round of the Toshiba Senior Classic, which featured Jack Nicklaus’

first tournament appearance.

Unofficially, the galleries for the first round doubled from

Friday of last year.

Exact figures are not tabulated, but a marshal on the third hole

estimated that 200-300 people followed the group of Nicklaus, Tom

Kite and Doug Tewell.

A sizable crowd also followed the group of Hale Irwin, Lee Trevino

and Mark McNulty.

The galleries swelled around the 18th green as spectators watched

Tom Purtzer get up-and-down from the sand to secure a birdie to give

him an 11-under-par 60, breaking the tournament record by two

strokes.

* Joe Inman, who carded a 7-under 64 for the day’s second-best

finish, has improved in each of his five Champions Tour starts this

season, including a fourth-place finish at last week’s SBC Classic.

He credits the improved play to a positive mental approach and

working with Steve Ridge, Inman’s brother-in-law, for nearly a year.

“Last year at this time I hit bottom,” said Inman, whose three

Champions Tour victories have come at Wilshire Country Club. “I had

lost the feel of what a good swing was like. I had gotten out of

position and then I lost my confidence. [Ridge] got me to understand

what I was doing.

“I feel like I understand what to do now, whereas a year ago, I

didn’t want to play. Now I look forward to playing.”

Inman’s previous-best finish at the Toshiba is a tie for fifth.

The 56-year-old Wake Forest University graduate hit 16 of 18

greens and 11 of 14 fairways Friday.

“This is a course I do well with,” said Inman, who tied for fourth

at last year’s national qualifying tournament to gain exempt status

this season. “It is not long, but it is a position course. I had

magic [Friday] with the putter.”

Inman has left himself in a position to make a possible run at

Purtzer, but he is not focusing on peripheral matters.

“I can only worry about what I do,” Inman said.

* Hale Irwin’s even-par 71 snapped a streak of 10 straight rounds

in the 60s at NBCC while Allen Doyle’s 4-over 75 was his first round

out of the 60s in 14 prior rounds on the course.

* The field stroke average for the first round was 70.526 compared

to 70.173 on Friday of last year. The par-4 sixth was the most

difficult (4.256) while the 492-yard par-5 15th was the easiest,

yielding a 4.462 average.

Twenty-eight players had rounds in the 60s while 35 of 78 golfers

shot under par. Last year, 38 players shot below par in the first

round.

* Dana Quigley made his 239th consecutive start for which he’s

been eligible and played in his 225th straight Champions Tour event.

He opened with a 1-under 70.

* Keith Fergus birdied the final three holes to finish with a

5-under 66 and post his first Champions Tour round in the 60s. Fergus

debuted on the circuit two weeks ago in Mexico at the MasterCard

Classic.

* The fog lifted at 12:30 p.m. Friday and the remainder of the

afternoon was spent in sunshine. The marine layer was a bit thicker

earlier in the week and returned during the afternoon some days.

It took nine groups, but Ben Crenshaw’s 20-foot uphill putt on the

par-3 13th was the first of six birdies on the hole. Crenshaw

finished at even-par 71.

Leonard Thompson, Fuzzy Zoeller and Purtzer each tallied an eagle

Friday. Zoeller chipped in from 20 feet on the par-5 third while

Thompson holed his approach on the par-4 11th.