Three share first day honours

He had some new equipment, but he played like the same old Hale Irwin - beautifully.

Though playing apprehensively with a new set of clubs, Irwin began his quest to repeat as the top player on the Champions Tour by taking a share of the first-round lead Friday in the MasterCard Championship.

He opened the season with a 6-under-par 66 to forge a tie with Dana Quigley and Steve Veriato.

"I played OK," Irwin said. "My biggest concern right now is how far I'm going to hit the ball. I'm not geared in yet (with yardages).

"I'm not calibrated and you have to be calibrated. But I'm hitting the ball farther off the tee."

Irwin, the 1997 winner here, got his third money title and player of the year award in 2002 at a record age of 57. He finished with earnings of $3,028,304 and won four times to push his tour-record total to 36.

Irwin made it look like 2002 all over again, carding the only bogey-free round on a sunny and blustery afternoon at Hualalai Golf Club.

Larry Nelson and Jay Sigel shot 67s, and were a stroke ahead of eight players - including Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino. Nicklaus and Trevino, both 63, are in the tournament on sponsor's exemptions.

Nicklaus, hampered by a bad back most of last year, is playing his first official event since the Senior PGA Championship last June.

"It's a lot of fun to be able to play golf and play well," said Nicklaus, who designed the 7,097-yard tournament course. "I haven't played in so long I forgot how to add up the scorecard. I couldn't have shot that round with a pencil last year."

Arnold Palmer, also playing on a sponsor's exemption, shot his age - 73.

Defending champion Tom Kite, playing with Palmer, opened with a 69.

The $1.5 million tournament is the first of 31 official events on the former Senior PGA Tour. This tournament is limited to players who have won a major title in the past five years or a regular-senior event the past two.

Twenty of the 36 entrants are within four shots of the lead, and 14 players shot rounds below 70.

Irwin nearly holed his second shot of the day to set up a tap-in birdie, and he was 4 under through seven holes. He birdied both par-5 holes on the back nine, and he also salvaged his round with a number of medium-length par putts, including an 8-footer at the last hole.

Quigley, playing in a record 202nd straight tournament, had an eagle and five birdies. He claimed his share of the lead with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole.

He said he got a boost in his putting after playing recently in Florida with fellow Rhode Island native Brad Faxon.

"Just seeing how softly he rolls the ball I think really helped me," Quigley said. "He actually gave me a lot of confidence by telling me it's the best he's ever seen me roll it.

"I've been playing with him all my life and for him to say that gave me great confidence that my stroke was working all right."

Veriato, a native of nearby Hilo, also birdied No. 18 from 20 feet to get to 6 under in what is his only guaranteed start of the year.

Veriato qualified for this event with his victory last year in the Novell Utah Showdown, but is not exempt beyond this week. He lost his card after finishing 61st on last year's money list.

"This is a great spot to be in. This is a big week for me," said Veriato, who hopes to play in a dozen events this year via sponsor's exemptions and Monday qualifying.

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