Canizares takes narrow lead

Allen Doyle said his five-shot first-round lead at the IR Senior Tour Championship wouldn't last. Jose Maria Canizares took only six holes today to prove Doyle right.

Canizares started faster than anyone at the new Tournament Players Club at Myrtle Beach. He had an eagle and three birdies on his first six holes to pass Doyle and everybody else for a one-stroke lead halfway through the tour's season-ender.

Canizares's 65 left him at 10-under 134, one in front of John Jacobs, two ahead of Leonard Thompson and three clear of Doyle, tour rookie Tom Watson, and Hubert Green.

The expected contenders in the elite field of 31 -- money leader Larry Nelson, defending player of the year Bruce Fleisher, and U.S. Senior Open winner Hale Irwin -- couldn't come close to Canizares.

"It's very difficult to make birdie, birdie, birdie. But it's OK, I try,'' said the golfer from Spain. "I had a lot of chances."

He took advantage of nearly all of them to steal the spotlight from Doyle, whose first-round 64 led to speculation of a Tiger-like runaway.

Canizares, who began the round five strokes behind, hit a sand wedge to 8 feet on No. 1 for his first birdie and followed with 15-foot eagle putt on the next hole. A birdie on the sixth hole tied Doyle. The Spaniard moved ahead with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16-17.

"If you play good, the birdies come easy," Canizares said. "If you play so-so, the bogeys also come easy."

Little came easy this day for Doyle, a big change from his opening round that included two eagles.

His birdie on the second hole break a momentary with Canizares. But he had bogeys on the ninth and 11th holes and then a disastrous double-bogey on the narrow, 538-yard 18th.

Doyle's second shot landed in the water next to green. After a drop and a wedge 8 feet beyond the hole, Doyle three-putted to finish with a 73.

He angrily threw his putter back to his caddie, his 21-year-old daughter Erin.

"If I don't play well from here on, it won't be because of the double on 18,'' Doyle said. "It'll be because I didn't hit the ball well."

Thompson also played himself back into contention with a 66, including two remarkable eagles on both back-nine par 5s. He rolled in a 35-foot putt on the 14th for a 3, then landed a wedge into the cup from about 70 yards away on the 18th.

"You never expect, at least I don't ever expect, for a shot like that at 18 to go in," Thompson said.

Jacobs had seven birdies and a bogey for his 66.

Watson didn't make a bogey and closed with birdies on three of the last five holes.

"I had kind of dry spell out there," said Watson, who has played only one Senior PGA Tour event since July. "But things just went my way at the end.''

Nelson, who won six tournaments and more than $2.6 million this year, shot 74 and was nine shots behind. He has had 37s on three of his four nines so far.

Fleisher, who also has struggled, was 11 shots back after a 71. Irwin, the 1998 Senior Tour Championship winner, shot a 69 and was eight strokes behind.

The winner of the $2.1 million event, which concludes Sunday, earns $365,000.

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