GOLF ROUNDUP : Amateur Right at Home in Senior Open

Mike Hill shot a two-under-par 68 to take the lead, but he wasn’t the big story after the first round of the U.S. Senior Open at the Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Mich.

Amateur Hunter McDonald, a transplanted Scot who is a member at Oakland Hills, used his local knowledge to compile a round of 71, and said it could have been better.

“I really felt I should have been able to post a 68 or 69,” said McDonald, who has been club champion 17 times. “I just let it get away from me at the end. I was so pumped up. I’ll try to come back with a good round tomorrow.

“It certainly was a thrill. I had butterflies when I teed off this morning. My goal was to make the cut. Now that I see where I am, I have to reconsider. I know I have the ability to win.”

Gary Player was one shot behind Hill, and Lee Trevino was two strokes back. McDonald was tied with Phil Rodgers, Al Geiberger, J.C. Snead, Bobby Nichols, Australian Bruce Devlin and amateur Dick Siderowf.

With hundreds of Oakland Hills members following his threesome and cheering his every shot, McDonald birdied the first three holes--something rarely done at Oakland Hills.

Jim Hallett, armed with some chipping advice from his father, shot a six-under-par 64 to take the first-round lead at the Greater Hartford Open at Cromwell, Conn.

“I worked with my dad on my short game and it seemed to help,” Hallett said. “Except for on seven, every green I missed I almost chipped in from.”

Corey Pavin, Mark Calcavecchia, Scott Hoch and Dillard Pruitt were tied for second, at 65.

Hallett, who started on the 10th hole, missed six greens, but didn’t have any bogeys.

Deb Richard missed a one-foot putt early in the first round but birdied the last two holes for a five-under-par 67 and led Pat Bradley by one stroke in the LPGA Bay State Classic at Canton, Mass.

Bradley, the LPGA’s earnings leader has been runner-up in her past three tournaments.

Loretta Alderete eagled the final hole to join Nancy Scranton and Mitzi Edge at 69.

Richard started her round with birdie putts of 20 and six feet on the first two holes but missed a putt for par of 12 inches on the third hole. She recovered with pars on the next two holes.

Bernhard Langer of Germany made 10 birdies in a round of nine-under-par 63 and took a two-stroke lead after the first round of the $840,100 Heineken Dutch Open at Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

Eamonn Darcy of Ireland and Britons Peter Mitchell and Mark Roe were tied for second at 65.

Tiger Woods of Cypress, who won medalist honors earlier in the day at four-under-par 140, easily won his first round of match play in the 44th USGA Junior Amateur Golf Championship with an 8 and 7 victory over Dan Konieczny of Mount Pleasant, Pa.

Woods, 15, of Cypress, won four of the first five holes and had three birdies and eight pars in the 11 holes the match lasted over the 7,027-yard Bay Hill Club course at Orlando, Fla.

Justin Klein, 17, who was runner-up in medal play at even par, was eliminated from the 64-player match-play field by Tracy Ellis of El Paso, who posted a 2-up victory.