GOLF / SENIORS AT INDIAN WELLS : Aaron Is Ace of Field After First Round

It was brought home to PGA Senior Tour members Friday how sorry they will be to leave the Vintage Club.

During the opening round of the 54-hole $500,000 Vintage Arco Invitational, 28 of the 53 professionals broke par under perfect conditions.

Tommy Aaron, with the help of a hole in one on the 165-yard seventh hole, shot a seven-under-par 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Harold Henning. There were four at five under par--Lee Trevino, Mike Hill, Jim Colbert and Dave Stockton. Four others were another shot behind.

It was slightly overcast, with almost no wind. Because there was little sun, the greens didn’t dry up. An hour after the round was completed, it began to rain heavily.

This is the 12th and last year of the Vintage, the club members having voted not to renew the tournament’s contract.

“This is as fine a place to play as there is on the tour,” Colbert said. “But this is what happens. For the last 25 years, the PGA Tour has sold more real estate than anyone.

“Under the ideal situation, the group trying to promote the course gets a tour event. The course becomes popular, and eventually, they don’t need the tour. That’s what’s happened. We’ve outgrown the course, and the members don’t need us.”

Aaron’s ace was worth a $2,000 bonus. At 55, he is in his sixth year on the 50-and-older tour without having won. He won twice on the regular tour, including the 1973 Masters.

“It had been so long, I couldn’t find the interview room,” he said. “But it’s not a fluke that I’m here. I have been improving in every phase of my game. I may be ready for a breakthrough.

“I love this course. I played well here last year, finishing in a tie for 10th, and I’m playing better.

“I hit a five-iron for the hole in one. It was 165 (yards) to the flag, and there was a little wind. I knew I hit it well, but Simon (Hobday, his playing partner) said it was in the hole--and it was.”

Stockton, captain of last year’s winning Ryder Cup team, may be ready to live up to expectations.

He became eligible for the senior tour in November, but says he is now really joining it. The two-time PGA champion found himself too wrapped up in the Ryder Cup for two years to prepare for senior competition.

“He was so busy with corporate outings and his job as captain of the Cup team, he couldn’t do anything about his game,” Trevino said. “All he could do was watch the rest of us spend all that time on the practice tee.”

Stockton agrees that, in his sixth senior event, he is starting to play the way he knows he can.

“I feel my game is coming around,” he said. “I just don’t know how Jack (Nicklaus) can do all the things he does and still find time to win golf tournaments.

“I know I’m a good player, but I can only do one thing at a time. I’m pretty good off the tee, and around the green I’m as good as anyone. I play better on the bent (grass) greens. At Ojai, I was under 70 all three rounds. Then I had a 64 on the desert course yesterday.

“But it doesn’t mean anything unless you do it when it counts. That’s why I feel so good about making six birdies today.”

Henning is reversing the usual senior trend. He has discarded the long-handled putter he used for his early success on the tour. “I’ve thrown away my crutch,” he said.

Henning, as did Aaron, started on the back nine. He made six birdies, finishing with three in a row. None of the birdie putts was longer than six feet, although he saved a par with a 25-footer.

By contrast, while shooting his 67, Trevino sank five putts ranging from 12 to 25 feet. He missed two short birdie putts.

Defending champion Chi Chi Rodriguez was in a group of seven at 70.

The field was at 53 when Bob Goalby withdrew because of a back problem after 15 holes.