Tway & Slocum lead after 61's

Bob Tway produced a stunning sequence of seven successive birdies to share the lead with Heath Slocum on nine-under-par 61 after the first round of the $3.5 million Texas Open on Thursday.

Tway and Slocum led by one shot from Australian Aaron Baddeley. Tom Byrum, Cameron Beckman, Cliff Kresge and South African Rory Sabbatini were tied for fourth place on 63.

Defending champion Loren Roberts was among a group of five players on six-under 64. Tommy Armour III, Dan Forsman, John Huston and Duffy Waldorf were on the same mark.

Slocum, 29, without a win on the PGA Tour, went out in a five-under 30 and added four more birdies on the back nine at LaCantera Golf Club's Resort course to shoot the lowest round of his professional career.

Tway, 44, who won the Canadian Open earlier this season, went on his birdie blitz with seven in a row between holes six and 12. He also had birdies at the 14th, 16th and 18th but dropped a stroke at the par-four 15th.

The joint leaders took advantage of mild afternoon winds and an ideal course set-up to post their season-low scores.

Tway, the 1986 U.S. PGA champion, said he was not aware how many birdies he had strung together. But he knew where he stood on the leaderboard and the opportunity to shoot 59 did enter his thoughts.

"I thought if I could birdie the par-three (13th), I have a par-five after that," Tway told reporters. "It didn't work that way.

"I did think about trying to make a few more (birdies) in a row. I can't remember what the record is.

"Those are nice records to have. Maybe I got ahead of myself but I gave myself a good opportunity on the par-three," Tway said in reference to a missed putt from 13 feet that snapped his seven-birdie streak.

Five players in PGA Tour history have recorded eight successive birdies, most recently JP Hayes at the 2002 Bob Hope Classic.

"I think players today are definitely just putting their heads down and going as low as they can no matter what the circumstances or conditions are like," Slocum said.

"I think players are getting better at it. If you see a low score it doesn't rile you. You know it's there and you go out and try to play it."

Slocum said the thought of shooting a 59 never really crossed his mind.

"I was really one shot at a time, so I was worrying about each shot," he said. "It would have been nice to think about it but I had a couple of shots to go."

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