The Hualalai Golf Club in Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii, was the venue this past night for the start of a new season on the PGA Champions Tour, the main circuit for seniors (over 50 years old) in the United States. A staging of a tour that year after year incorporates relevant names in which two old acquaintances like Vijay Singh (-7), 60 years old, and Steven Alker (-7), 52, have started leading.
The golfer born in Fiji, of Indian origin, with his son Qass as caddie, has completed a simply impeccable first round, with five birdies and an eagle, without fault, to deliver a card of 65 strokes, same final result as the New Zealander, although in his case he made a bogey on the par three of hole 8 and closed his round with four birdies in his last four holes, for eight in total. Both share the lead in the standings with a one-stroke lead over the quartet formed by K.J. Choi (-6), Brett Quigley (-6), Ernie Els (-6) and Steve Stricker (-6), who defends title.
222 yards ➡️ 5 feet
The defending champion @SteveStricker is heating up @MEC_Golf. pic.twitter.com/PN5H2327J0
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) January 19, 2024
The German Bernhard Langer (-4), three-time winner of the event and who in the preview announced that next April’s will be his last Augusta Masters, proved to be still very fit with a round of 68 strokes, three more than the leaders. More problems had the Spanish Miguel Ángel Jiménez (-2), also with three previous victories in this tournament (2015,2020 and 2020). The ‘pisha’ lost on the par five of hole 7, making a double bogey after dropping with penalty after his second shot from the fairway, his chances of starting the tournament in the high zone of the classification.
Miguel knows the wind direction when he has his cigar 😎@MAJimenez1964 | @MEC_Golf pic.twitter.com/PRp6qWAJWL
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) January 17, 2024
The Malaga-born made four birMidies, all of them between holes 4 and 10, but will have to speed up his production this Friday on a course that lends itself to very low results (Striker made 60 strokes in one of his rounds last year) if he wants to reach the last round with chances of victory. He will start from the 23rd tied position, behind other relevant names like Alex Cejka (-3), Mike Weir (-4), Stewart Cink (-5) or Rocco Mediate (-5), among others. This first tournament of the season on the Champions Tour, on a course designed by Jack Nicklaus, distributes two million dollars in prizes among its 42 participants and is played at 54 holes.
