Darren Clarke came out firing on day one of the PGA Tour Champions’ Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS on the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach and finished the day inside the top 10.
The six-time Champions Tour winner birdied each of his opening three holes, then added another pair back-to-back on six and seven and repeated the feat on 10 and 11 to get to seven-under for the day.
His first mistake was a costly one, however, as he found the water on the par-3 12th and ended up with a double bogey which he followed by dropping another shot on 13.
At risk of letting an excellent round slip through his grasp, he rebounded to birdie the 14th and 15th and recorded pars on each of the closing three to shoot a six-under 66 that left him tied for seventh and three off the lead.
Chris Devlin, playing on another tournament invitation, shot a two-under round of 70 to share 42nd, but the low round of the day belonged to Ryan Armour who made 10 birdies and one bogey in a nine-under 63 to set a new tournament record for the lowest single round.
Armour leads by one from Paul Goydos and Rod Pampling, with a further three players sharing fourth at -7.
Steven Alker, looking for his fifth win in six starts across both the PGA Tour Champions and Staysure Legends Tours, trails Clarke by one after a five-under 67 and is part of a strong contingent that includes Zach Johnson, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Angel Cabrera and Retief Goosen.
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