Zoeller leads after opening 65

Fuzzy Zoeller shot a 5-under 65 in the opening round of the Blue Angels Classic on Friday for a one-stroke lead over Gil Morgan and defending champion Bob Gilder.

Doug Tewell, Walter Hall, Bobby Lincoln and Jim Ahern were another stoke back at The Moors Golf Club.

Champions Tour rookie Jerry Pate, from nearby Pensacola, was among 15 players at 2-under 68.

Zoeller, coming off a showing at the Masters where he missed the cut with a 16-over 160 total, made four birdies on the front nine. He made just one birdie on the back nine, rolling in a 3-foot putt at No. 13.

"We're professionals," Zoeller said. "It's like one of the NBA teams going out and getting blown out by 36 points. You can shake their hands and say 'Nice game, we'll see you in a couple months,' ... and you have to go out the next day."

Morgan made all four of his birdies on the front nine, while Gilder collected three of his five birdies on the back nine in windy conditions on the treeless course.

The tournament, known as the Emerald Coast Classic for its first nine years, was renamed for the Navy's Blue Angels precision flying team, based at Pensacola Naval Air Station. The new name has attracted sponsorship from defense contractors, and some of the event's proceeds will go to the National Museum of Naval Aviation at the Pensacola base. The winner also gets a bonus prize - a flight in the back seat of a Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet.

Gilder won last year with a tournament-record 17-under 193.

"They tell you about it, but until you've experienced it you can't comprehend it," Zoeller said. "That's why I want to win this again because I want to go up again."

Hubert Green, recovering from throat cancer surgery and chemotherapy, shot a 10-over 80 in his first start since January.

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