A superb opening day in the MCI Heritage ended with three European Tour Members in the top three on the leaderboard, headed by Australian Peter Lonard who carded a sensational nine under par 62 at Hilton Head, South Carolina.
That left him two clear of Frenchamn Thomas Levet with Northern Ireland’’s Darren Clarke a further shot adrift at the Harbour Town Golf Links. Australian left-hander Nick O’’Hern also enjoyed a fine opening day to finish joint fifth on three under par with Spain’’s Jose Maria Olazabal another shot back on two under par 69 and sharing tenth place.
Playing in cool, gusty conditions at the Harbour Town Golf Links, Lonard looked headed for a long day after opening his round with a bogey at the first.
But on the next hole the 37 year old embarked on a birdie rampage picking up a shot on nine of his next 11 holes, including a stretch of five birdies from the seventh.
At ten under par with two to play Lonard had the course record of 61 in his hand and a magical 59 in his sight.
A par, bogey finish, however, saw him happily settle for a 62 and a two stroke lead over Levet, who birdied six of his nine final holes to card a seven under par 64.
"When I walked onto the 17th I was thinking of 59," admitted Lonard, who ended the 2004 season with back-to-back wins in Australia in December. "It was just one of those days.”
Clarke, who finished tied for 17th at last week's Masters Tournament , got his round off to a scorching start with birdies on seven of his opening 13 holes but stuttered slightly coming home with bogeys on the 14th and 16th to card a solid six under par 65 to sit three off the lead.
