The first round of the Mitsubishi Electric Classic got underway at TPC Sugarloaf on Friday, contested under new scoring rules, using Modified Stableford Scoring.
Under this format, points are awarded / deducted for albatross (8 points), eagle (5 points), birdie (2 points), par (0 points), bogey (-1 point) and double bogey or more (-3 points).
Tyrone’s Darren Clarke accumulated five points in a round that consisted of four birdies and three bogeys, as the 57-year-old sits in a tie for 29th.
After a bogey at the second, Clarke quickly bounced back with a pair of birdies at the third and fourth. A costly error on his approach at the ninth saw the 2011 Open winner make bogey.
Clarke had a few missed opportunities on the back nine but the former Ryder Cup captain will be happy with a closing birdie at the last.
Clarke will be hoping for a good showing this weekend if he is to get an early start on his Charles Schwab Cup rankings where he sits 31st, and add to his three top 25 finishes this season.
Rookie Zach Johnson took the first round lead as he showed why he has won twice at TPC Sugarloaf, making nine birdies and scoring 15 points to hold a one point lead. The 50-year-old is seeking his second win on the PGA CHAMPIONS TOUR, having only made five starts.
Johnson enters the week no.2 in the Charles Schwab Cup rankings, having finished in the top 10 in each of his four previous starts since turning 50 years old.
Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and USA’s Ben Crane occupy T2, just one point back from Johnson, as both sit on 14 points.
World Golf Hall of Fame member Retief Goosen shares T4 with Paul Stankowski and K.J. Choi as each earned 12 points in their first 18-holes.
Tournament host and Charles Schwab Cup leader Stewart Cink sits T7 on 11 points. Cink looks to become the 10th player in PGA TOUR Champions history to win three consecutive starts. Defending champion Jerry Kelly sits alongside Cink in T7.
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