Irvine’s Carrasco Shares Senior British Open Lead

Ray Carrasco, a teaching pro from Irvine, and countryman David Oakley shared the first-round lead in the Senior British Open after firing two-under-par 70s Thursday at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.

Tied for second at 71 were former Ryder Cup players Antonio Garrido of Spain and Guy Hunt of England, and another Englishman, John Morgan.

Oakley, who finished second to Brian Barnes in the 1996 tournament, made three birdies and an eagle on the front nine but had two bogeys over the last four holes to slip back into a tie for first.

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Kenny Perry shot a six-under 64 for a share of the first-round lead of the John Deere Classic with Robert Damron and Joe Ogilvie.

David Peoples, Mac O’Grady, Katsumasa Miyamoto, Brett Quigley and Briny Baird shot 65s over the 6,762-yard Oakwood Country Club course at Coal Valley, Ill.

Golf Notes

Vandals sprayed poison on greens at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., site of the 1994 PGA Championship and the 2001 U.S. Open, carving obscenities into the grass and forcing the championship course to close until spring for repairs. Eight greens were damaged June 25 by the chemical, which killed the top layer of grass, general manager Nick Sidorakis said. No arrests have been made.