Morgan Right at Home at Sr. PGA

By Sports Network

EDMOND, Okla. -- Gil Morgan fired a 5-under-par 66 on Thursday and owns a one-shot lead after the first round of the Senior PGA Championship at Oak Tree Golf Course.
 
Peter Jacobsen, who won last year's Senior Players Championship, posted a 4-under-par 67 and is alone in second place.
 
Three-time winner this season Loren Roberts carded a 3-under-par 68 and is tied for third place with 2001 champion Tom Watson and two-time winner in 2006 Jay Haas.
 

There was a lack of wind at Oak Tree on Thursday, but the biggest factor that hurt players was the high temperatures. It reached 99 degrees on the course, a new record high.
 
Perhaps some local knowledge helped the leader.
 
Morgan, who lives within a mile of the course, started on the back nine Thursday and immediately broke into red figures. He hit a wedge to 5 feet at 10 to set up his first birdie of the round.
 
He dropped a shot two holes later when he missed the fairway, then missed the green with his second. Morgan, a 23-time winner on the Champions Tour, parred his next two, but went on a run at the end of his first nine.
 
At the 15th, Morgan hit an 8-iron to 15 feet and converted the birdie putt. He made it two in a row at the par-5 16th when he missed the green with his second shot, but chipped to 3 feet to set up another birdie.
 
Morgan closed out his opening nine holes with a 4-foot birdie putt at No. 18.
 
"Starting out today, I was somewhat apprehensive with my start," admitted Morgan. "Made a birdie on my first hole. That kind of eased things up a little bit."
 
Morgan parred one and two, but took advantage of the par-5 third. He laid up with an 8-iron, then wedged his third to 2 feet. Morgan kicked in the short birdie putt to reach 4 under par.
 
Morgan saved a nice par at the sixth hole when his approach skipped through the green. He chipped his third to 10 feet and drained the par putt to stay at minus-4.
 
He separated himself from the pack at the seventh. He hit a solid drive in the short grass, then Morgan played a gap wedge to 12 feet. Morgan sank the birdie putt to get to 5 under par, but needed one more par save to keep the first-round lead.