Darren Clarke hopes he can keep it going mentally after a four-under 67 left him just three shots off the lead in the KitchenAid Senior PGA in Michigan.
The Dungannon man is tied for eighth behind senior debutant Richard Bland and Australian Richard Green at Harbor Shores Resort in Michigan, with Paul McGinley 51st on level par and Pádraig Harrington 98th on three over.
“I played nicely,” Clarke said. “I had a few more chances. I felt as if I left two or three out there, but overall, 67, was pretty good on a tough golf course like this one.
“It was nice and soft-ish this morning. Not quite that soft. But it was an opportunity. No breeze, so you could get some of those more challenging flags.”
Winner of The Senior Open in 2022, Clarke knows he has to avoid making silly mental mistakes to win another senior major.
“I have been playing nicely, but just I don’t — making a bad swing on the wrong hole at the wrong — doing one of those sort of things,” he said.
“Not intentionally or anything. Just if I made a mistake, I’ve compounded it on the wrong hole at the wrong time.
“So I’ve been playing really pretty solid all year but just not scoring. The game has been really close, so maybe I won’t hit the stupid shot at the wrong time on one of these holes this week.”
Jokingly, he added: “I’m a mental midget. No, I was pretty good today. I was pretty calm and collected and stuff today.
“It is one of those golf courses where patience is required. I hope I possess as much as I had today for the rest of the week and I’ll be okay.”
Left-hander Green and LIV Golf regular Bland shot seven-under 64s to lead by two shots from Mike Weir, defending champion Steve Stricker, KJ Choi, Jeff Schmid and Scott Dunlap.
McGinley made four birdies and four bogeys in a 71, but Harrington, who struggled with a neck injury in last week’s PGA Championship, made just one birdie in a three-over 74 that featured an opening bogey six at the 10th and a double bogey at the 16th.
It was also a tough day for Scottie Scheffler, who failed to break par in the opening round for the first time this year in the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Texas.
As Charley Hoffman carded a five-under 65 for a one-shot lead over five players, world number one Scheffler signed for a two-over 72 that featured a triple bogey six at the 13th.
He was tied for 79th on a day when police released some footage of his arrest at Valhalla last Friday.
Scheffler was arrested for not following traffic directions, but the chief of police said at a news conference in Louisville on Thursday that the arresting officer is facing “corrective action” for not using his body camera during the arrest.
Scheffler faces a June 3arraignment on four charges, including second-degree assault of a police officer.
The officer claims he was dragged by Scheffler’s car, but there was no video of their first interaction.
Scheffler was two under after four holes but bogeyed the seventh and ninth before taking six at the par three 13th, where his eight iron came up short in a pond and he spun his third off the green.
He finished with four pars and a birdie to end the day a shot outside the top 65 and ties who will make the halfway cut.
The Texan has not missed a cut since the 2022 FedEx St Jude Championship 21 months ago.