Steven Alker of New Zealand, Colin Montgomerie of Scotland and Justin Leonard are tied atop the leaderboard after one round of the Insperity Invitational after shooting 6-under 66 rounds on Friday in The Woodlands, Texas.
The trio holds a one-stroke lead over Matt Gogel and David Toms.
Alker is the event’s defending champion and set the early pace with eight birdies and two bogeys. He started on the back nine at The Woodlands Country Club and touched 7 under with a birdie at his third-to-last hole, but a bogey at the par-3 eighth brought Alker back down to 6 under.
“Yeah, there’s always a little bit of added pressure there, kind of in the back,” Alker said. “You’re trying not to try any harder, but it’s just there. As I said, I got a nice start. Made a couple of birdies the first two holes and settled me down, so it was pleasing, and I didn’t really think about it. I just went out there and played golf today.”
Leonard, a 50-year-old Texas native, is a PGA Tour Champions rookie seeking his first win on the circuit. He also started on the back and birdied four of his six holes, eventually winding up with seven birdies and a single bogey.
“There’s going to be some good scores,” Leonard said. “The greens are — they’re in good shape. They’re not firm by any stretch. Tomorrow we’re going to have a different wind and cooler temperatures, so now try and get ready and game plan for that.”
Montgomerie took a solo lead late in the day when he birdied the par-3 16th and par-4 17th to climb to 7 under. A bogey at the par-4 18th dragged him back into the tie for first.
A World Golf Hall of Famer, Montgomerie is seeking his first win on the tour since 2019.
Steve Stricker, Wes Short Jr. and South African Ernie Els shot 4-under 68 to form a tie for sixth. Bernhard Langer of Germany, one title away from breaking the tour’s all-time career wins record, and Irishman Padraig Harrington opened with rounds of 1-under 71.
–Field Level Media
