Hoch, Purtzer shoot 66s to share Senior PGA lead

BEACHWOOD (AP) — Orlando resident and avid Magic fan Scott Hoch put his day in NBA terms.

“After 16 [holes] I felt like the Magic did, and then after 18 I felt like the Cavaliers,” Hoch joked after following a great start with bogeys on the last two holes to drop into a tie with Tom Purtzer at 4-under 66 on Thursday after the opening round of the Senior PGA Championship.

Hoch said he was in “a good frame of mind” after watching his Magic beat the Cavaliers 107-106 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night. It must have carried over to the course at the first major of the year for the over-50 set.

“I just went out there and hit a lot of good shots through 16 holes. I was 6 under and could have been a few more,” Hoch said.

Their 66s matched the lowest competitive score at venerable Canterbury Golf Club, which joined Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y., as the only course to host all five of the premier U.S. men’s championships played at rotating sites.

Purtzer started on the longer, harder back nine and turned in 2 under, his only bogey coming on the rolling 616-yard 16th. He had seven pars and two birdies on the front, totaling just 25 putts for the round while stringing together four one-putt greens during one stretch.

“A lot of times you’re better off having a 15-footer in the right spot than a 5- or 8-footer in the wrong spot,” he said.

Bernhard Langer, a two-time winner this year and the Champions Tour’s top money-winner, had a 68 and was alone in third.

“I would like to think that I’m one of the players to beat,” Langer said. “I’ve had a pretty good season on the Champions Tour last year and I had a really good start this year again. So I would like to think of myself as being one of those guys that has a chance to win.”

Tom Kite, John Morse, Mark James, Joey Sindelar, Larry Mize, Dana Quigley and Fred Gibson were the only other players under par, each with a 69.

Only 10 players broke par and 12 others shot even-par 70 in warm and sunny weather with blustery wind at the 88-year-old layout in suburban Cleveland.