Five share first day lead

Gil Morgan and Andy North shot 6-under-par 66s in ideal conditions today for a share of the first-round lead in the Gold Rush Classic.

Howard Twitty, Ed Dougherty and Bruce Summerhays also opened with 66s in the Senior PGA Tour event at Serrano Country Club.

Jim Thorpe, coming off a victory last week in the Transamerica Championship, and three-time Gold Rush winner George Archer were a stroke back at 67.

Several days of hard rain made for good scoring conditions on a sunny day with little wind. The greens were soft and the putts ran slow as players fired shots at the flag. It also helped that players were allowed to left, clean and place their balls in the fairways.

"The greens were obviously soft, you could hit it real close to the hole if you had the right distance,'' Morgan said. "If there is no wind tomorrow, if might get even easier. It won't get much harder unless there is a weather change."

Playing in the same morning group, Twitty and North had bogey-free rounds.

Struggling in his first year on the senior tour, North started the round with a birdie, hitting a 9-iron within 6 feet. He finished with three birdies on each side.

"I have played miserably for most of the summer,'' the two-time U.S. Open winner said. "I stumbled on something last week and its getting better. This is the best round I've round I've played in a while. I didn't come close to having a bogey.''

Twitty matched North on the first hole, hitting a sand wedge within 10 feet. Twitty played the front nine in 34, then had four birdies on the back, the final one coming on a 20-footer at No. 18.

"It was a wonderful start,'' Twitty said. "I was marginal hitting ball, but I putted beautifully. We shot the same score, but got there in different ways.''

After missing his first tournament of the season last week, Dougherty birdied five of the first six holes. His lone slip up came on the par-5, 14th, where he needed a 10-footer to avoid a triple bogey.

"I had more threes on my card than I can remember,'' Dougherty said. "I had a great front nine. I just fell apart for some reason and had a train wreck on 14."

Playing later in the day, Summerhays got his round going by hitting a 7-wood to the green and making a 10-footer for eagle on the par-5 12th. He followed with birdies on the next two holes.

Morgan heated up over the final 13 holes, playing them in 7 under. Morgan is fourth on the money list this season with $1,740, 910. He had his 28th straight sub-par round.

"I've been playing real consistent, hitting greens and putting the ball well," Morgan said.

Larry Nelson, the tour's leading money winner, shot a 70 -- his 30th straight round of par or better.

Lee Trevino and Tom Kite were among a group at 68, and defending champion David Graham shot a 69.

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