Eaks clear with opening 64

Twelve holes into his first U.S. Senior Open, R.W. Eaks was thinking about shooting a 59.

Eaks, who has never won a PGA event of any kind, settled for a 7-under-par 64, which tied the tournament record and gave him a three-shot lead over Tom Watson after Thursday's opening round.

``I'm kind of disappointed I didn't shoot a 63, actually,'' said Eaks, who had an eagle, eight birdies and three bogeys on a difficult Caves Valley course that yielded only nine sub-par rounds on a sweltering day.

Play was suspended for the day by lightning with 33 players left on the course.

Watson shot a bogey-free 67, one shot better than James Mason and Jose Maria Carnizares. Isao Aoki, Fred Gibson and Jim Ahern carded 69s.

``Playing here in the Senior Open, it gets my juices flowing. I love it,'' said Watson, a two-time Masters and U.S. Open champion. ``I just hope to continue to play well here.''

Arnold Palmer thrilled the crowd by opening with six straight pars. He then made a double-bogey and a quadruple-bogey and staggered to an 82.

Eaks was an unlikely leader, given that much of his pro career has been spent on the Buy.Com Tour, golf's version of the minor leagues. He had only two top-10 finishes in 74 starts on the PGA Tour before his career was temporarily curtailed in 1998 by a serious hip injury.

``It's been a long and tedious recovery, but I think we've made it now,'' he said.

Last week, however, Eaks finished tied for 71st at the Greater Baltimore Classic after his back gave out on the second hole of the 54-hole tournament.

But on this day, his second hole proved to be the springboard for a record-tying round. Starting on the back nine, Eaks made an 8-foot putt on No. 11 to spark a stretch of five birdies in six holes. A poor chip and an errant putt from 6 feet resulted in a bogey on 17.

He rebounded with a 4-foot birdie putt on No. 1 and a 25-footer for birdie on 2, then made a marvelous eagle on the par-5, 515-yard 3rd. After a solid drive, Eaks used a 6-iron to get within 14 feet of the cup and drained the putt.

``I got to 8-under-par and starting thinking about, `Man, maybe I can shoot a 59 today,''' he said. ``That was probably the wrong thing to do, but you have to think that way if you're going to shoot low.''

A par on No. 4 and bogeys on 5 and 7 ruined his bid for a 59, but a birdie on No. 8 enabled Eaks to tie three players -- Orville Moody, Bruce Fleisher and Jay Sigel -- for the lowest 18-hole score in U.S. Senior Open history.

``It's always nice to have your name somewhere,'' he said.

That's not been a problem for Watson, whose list of accomplishments also includes five British Open titles. This year he's finished second in three senior events and is 15th on the money list.

``Today I had a good, solid round of golf,'' Watson said. ``This year, although I haven't won, things are going well for me on the senior tour. I still have a little bit of life left in me.''

Fleisher, the defending champion, shot a 76. Hale Irwin, the leading money-winner on the tour this year, was at 2-over heading to the final hole when play was suspended.

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