AKRON, Ohio — Steve Stricker decided at the last minute to play the Senior Players Championship instead of the PGA Tour, and he made it pay off Thursday at Firestone.
Stricker holed a bunker shot on the par-3 12th for a birdie, ran off three straight birdies at the end of his opening nine holes and kept bogeys off his card for a 7-under 63. That gave him a four-shot lead over Ken Duke and Paul Broadhurst.
It was just the start he needed after his last two events on the PGA Tour Champions. The Ryder Cup captain lost a great chance to win the Senior PGA Championship at Southern Hills with a 77 in the final round, and he got off to such a poor start in his American Family Insurance Championship that a closing 65 was only good for a tie for seventh.