Sigel leads with opening 64

Jay Sigel shot his best round in nearly a year, but Miller Barber stole the day.

The 71-year-old Barber was the talk of the Springhouse Golf Club as he broke his age by four strokes with a 67, and even Sigel credited Barber for helping him card an 8-under 64 and grab a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the BellSouth Senior Classic.

``It's indescribable what he's done,'' Sigel said of Barber's play.

Barber has shot better than his age three times in his career. He shot a 68 here in 2000 and a 68 last August in Utah. He said he did everything well Friday from driving to putting, but breaking his age by four strokes made the day even better.

``It makes you feel real good. My gosh almighty. How many 71-year-olds can do it when you get right down to it? It's a great feeling. I had a nice time ... and had a lot of fun,'' he said.

Fifty golfers broke par in the opening round Friday, but Barber had the round of the day. He teed off 11 groups ahead of Sigel and started very slowly. Barber got going on the back nine with five birdies for a 67 that put him on the leaderboard.

Sigel noticed Barber's name on the leaderboard early and couldn't stop talking about him with playing partners Tom Jenkins and Bruce Lietzke.

``There's no other sport where players can shoot their age or break their age,'' Sigel said. ``Here's a guy who's a legend and has not probably played too many tournaments recently. To break your age by four is very special.''

He had only one thought for Saturday.

``I hope Miller shoots another 5-under tomorrow, so I can focus on that,'' Sigel said.

He took advantage of the wide fairways and soft greens to record six birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round.

Dana Quigley and Walter Hall shot 66s, while Barber's 67 tied him with six others including Lee Trevino and Fuzzy Zoeller.

Everyone enjoyed a course that couldn't be more different from last week's Senior PGA Tour stop at the Firestone Country Club, where tight fairways and lots of rough resulted in few birdies.

Sigel, who finished tied for 57th last week, used his putter to turn in a round that was four strokes lower than anything he shot this year. It was his lowest round since a 63 at the SBC Senior Open last July.

He started with a birdie on No. 1, a 530-yard par-5, as he hit a 5-wood onto the green and two-putted. He made a 10-footer for birdie on the par-4 No. 4, and his 5-iron to 15 feet at No. 8 set up the first of three birdies over the next four holes, including a 4-footer on No. 9 and a 6-footer on 11.

He grabbed the lead with an eagle on the par-5 12th as he put a 5-iron to 20 feet. He padded the lead on the final hole with a 6-iron to 13 feet.

The round continued Sigel's turnaround. He struggled much of this year, failing to even crack the top 15 until a month ago. But he has a victory at the Farmers Charity Classic, a tie for fifth and a tie for 15th over the past fourweeks.

Divots

Morris Hatalsky, a Monday qualifier in five of nine events, had a 67. ... Jack Fleck, 80, also beat his age last week with a 77. ... Country singer Vince Gill worked as a caddie Friday for David Eger. ... Quigley has played in 184 consecutive events. ... Trevino fixed a problem with his backswing andfound more length off the tee. That helped him eagle two par-5s Friday.

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