Miguel Angel Jimenez used an early birdie spree to capture a two-shot lead on the field after one round of The Senior Open Championship on Thursday in Bridgend, Wales.
The Spaniard shot a 5-under-par 66 at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club to pull ahead of Alex Cejka of Germany and Mario Tiziani at 3-under 68.
Jimenez, 59, picked up two senior majors in 2018, including The Senior Open, but hasn’t won another since.
“This is probably my favorite major, and I’m playing these conditions, this beautiful golf course,” Jimenez said. “It’s a great links with a beautiful condition. I really enjoy playing links. I love it.”
Jimenez rolled in three straight birdies at Nos. 5-7 to get in a tie for the lead. He moved to 4 under alone with a long, left-to-right birdie putt at the par-4 ninth hole.
After his lone bogey at the par-4 14th, he bounced back right away with a birdie 2 at No. 15 and one more to cap it off at the par-5 finishing hole.
Cejka, like Jimenez, also owns a pair of senior major titles, both coming in 2021. That was his debut year on the 50-and-older circuit, and he’s hunting for his third major this week after opening with a bogey-free round.
Tiziani, meanwhile, is a little-known 53-year-old from Madison, Wis., making his Senior Open debut. He has had only two top-10 finishes in 24 career events on the PGA Tour Champions.
After opening with consecutive bogeys, Tiziani birdied No. 3 and Nos. 5-7 to reach 2 under. He avoided bogey the rest of the day before adding the exclamation point with a birdie at No. 18.
India’s Jeev Milkha Singh and Fiji’s Vijay Singh are tied for fourth at 2-under 69. A host of others are at 1-under 70, including New Zealand’s Steven Alker, England’s Paul Broadhurst and Scotland’s Paul Lawrie.
Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, the defending champion, opened with a 2-over 73, as did German legend Bernhard Langer.
Steve Stricker, the top player on the PGA Tour Champions throughout the season, is not competing this week.
–Field Level Media