Fleisher tops leaderboard with opening 64

Bruce Fleisher shot an 8-under 64 Friday and holds a two-stroke lead over Lonnie Nielsen after the first round of the Bruno's Memorial Classic.

Nielsen's 66 at Greystone Golf & Country Club in suburban Birmingham included four straight birdies and a 45-foot eagle putt on the par-5 13th.

Fleisher, the runner-up to Tom Jenkins last year, was worried about the weather, but the heavy rains held off until after the round.

"I wasn't too thrilled on the driving range but it turned out to be a beautiful day," he said. "Even with the rain, the greens were very, very fast. I never had an uphill putt until the 18th hole, so I putted defensively a lot today and the hole got in the way a few times."

Nielson, a former club pro from Buffalo, N.Y., is in his first full year on the Champions Tour. He birdied 18 to pull within two shots of the lead.

He was hoping to set up a short birdie putt on the 13th, hitting uphill from the fringe, but did even better.

"It just nailed the pin and went in," he said. "When you get it going, you can't wait to get to the next hole and birdie it. I had visions of 8, 9, 10 under but I didn't take advantage of the birdie holes coming in."

Larry Nelson, the 1999 Bruno's Memorial Classic winner, is among a group at 4-under 68 that includes Lee Trevino, Dave Eichelberger, Walter Hall, D.A. Weibring and Des Smyth.

Fleisher is trying to become the 13th winner in the 13-year history of the Bruno's Memorial Classic and the first two-time winner this year on the Champions Tour.

"I don't think there's a big enough lead for anybody," he said. "There's a lot of golf left. I have to continue to be aggressive."

Nelson had a chance to get closer to Fleisher, but he was 1 over on Greystone's five par-5 holes, a key to posting a low score on the 7,092-yard course.

He holed out a 120-yard pitching wedge approach on the par-4 12th for an eagle.

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