Christy O'Connor is doing the best he can to make up for years of lost time and money.

Playing on a sponsor's exemption, O'Connor shot a 7-under-par 65 today to take a two-shot lead after the opening round of the State Farm Senior Classic.

Five players, including rookie sensation Brian Fleisher, were at 67 with two rounds left in the $1.3 million tournament.

O'Connor began playing golf in Ireland at age 6 and grew up to be one of the country's finest players. He made headlines around the world in the 1989 Ryder Cup Matches when he hit a brilliant 2-iron approach on the 18th green at The Belfry and defeated Fred Couples 1-up to help Europe retain the cup with a 14-14 tie.

He never played the PGA Tour because he was afraid his three children would not return to their homeland after getting a taste of life in America.

Last year, O'Connor was preparing to play for his Senior PGA Tour exemption when his 17-year-old son, Daren, was killed in a car accident.

So his entry in senior tournaments is currently dictated by the availability of sponsor exemptions. And although he's participated in only five events, O'Connor ranks 49th on the money list with $172,407.

He can enhance that total by $195,000 with a victory this weekend. More importantly, a victory would assure him an exemption for an entire year.

"That really is my wish. It would give me a fantastic thrill," he said. "That would make my year."

It has thus far been a difficult year for the 50-year-old O'Connor, who has used golf to help purge the devastation of losing his son.

"The loss is horrific. You just go on day to day," he said. "Golf has helped, and the people around me have been fantastic."

Playing on an old-fashioned course that he said reminded him of those in Ireland, O'Connor birdied four of the first five holes and added four birdies on the back nine to climb atop the leader board.

His longest birdie putt was an 8-footer on No. 4 and his only bogey came when he three-putted from 30 feet on the par-3 eighth.

Fleisher's 67 was his 11th straight round of par or better. The leading money-winner on the tour this year, Fleisher opened with two straight birdies and made six in all. His only bogey occurred on 17, when he three-putted from 40 feet. He offset that with an 8-foot birdie putt on 18.

"I got out of the box fast, which really helped. And it's nice to finish like I did," he said.

Isao Aoki, Allen Doyle, Bob Duval and Hubert Green were also at 67. Six players were at 68.

Duval, vying for his second victory of the year, picked up where he left off last week when he had three sub-par rounds in the Ford Senior Players Championship. He had five birdies in a bogey-free round Friday.

Doyle also avoided a bogey, but wasn't about to celebrate anything with 36 holes to go.

"The only time I get excited about being up there is on the back nine Sunday," he said. "This is a good start, but we have too many holes left to worry about who's doing what."

AP