Eichelberger, Vucinich Find Common Ground

Dave Eichelberger and Roy Vucinich have very different histories on the Senior PGA Tour, but after the first round of the Toshiba Senior Classic Friday at Newport Beach Country Club, they have at least two things in common.

Each shot five-under-par 66 and are tied for the lead, a stroke ahead of Larry Nelson and Howard Twitty.

And neither has a plan about how to approach today’s second round.

For Eichelberger, a seven-year senior tour veteran with 212 appearances and five victories, playing without a plan is nothing new.

“I really don’t ever have a strategy or goal or anything like that,” Eichelberger said. “I just start off on that first hole and try to hit it as far as I can down the fairway and then start trying to knock it in the hole once I get close enough where I can do it.”

For Vucinich, a 27-year club professional from the Pittsburgh area, just playing at this level is a new experience. He has only 13 senior tour appearances, with a best finish of 14th in 1997. He finished sixth at qualifying school in December to become fully exempt for the first time.

“Five under is a little more than I was expecting today,” Vucinich said. “Playing in such a big group [with Eichelberger and Twitty] as well as the last group as well as tied for the tournament [lead] . . . these are all unknowns to me.

“I’ve never led or tied for a lead in this size tournament before, so there’s no telling what could happen.”

Eichelberger doesn’t need to worry if his approach doesn’t work; he has shown the ability to adjust on the fly.

Last November, on his way to play in the Senior Tour Championship in Myrtle Beach, S.C., his flight from New York was canceled because of bad weather.

Afraid he would fall asleep if he rented a car and drove, Eichelberger summoned a limousine for the 11-hour trip and met his pro-am group on the tee minutes before the shotgun start.

Under tour rules, any player missing a pro-am is automatically disqualified from the tournament.

“When we pulled up alongside the fifth green . . . the people were all in their carts coming out to the tees,” Eichelberger said. “So I was less than five minutes from missing the whole thing.”

The limo ride, plus tip, cost $3,200. Eichelberger made $18,000 for placing 31st in the tournament.

“So I guess it was a plus,” he joked.

Friday, the 1999 U.S. Senior Open champion showed up early and with a hot putter.

Playing in the 9 a.m. threesome, Eichelberger needed only 23 putts in a round that included six birdies and a bogey. This on greens that Lee Trevino once compared to putting on a mattress.

“You just have to be able to read the greens,” Eichelberger said. “My caddie [Bobby Conlan] is about the best I’ve ever seen at reading greens. And I’m about the second best.”

Vucinich, playing in the final threesome of the day, hit 15 greens in regulation and made a remarkable recovery shot from behind a tree on the 18th, then drained a 30-foot putt to tie for the lead.

Nelson, a five-time senior tour winner, came to Newport Beach in a slump. He finished 10th, 42nd, 18th, 45th and 42nd in his five starts this season.

He searched everywhere for a cure, but said he found the answer right in front of him this week in his hotel room.

“Actually I got in front of a mirror,” Nelson said.

He discovered that an improper weight shift caused his head to move, so he made an adjustment.

“I was hitting some ugly shots the last two or three weeks,” Nelson said. “I mean it was getting worse and I just couldn’t figure it out. I had a lot more confidence today than I did yesterday.”

Defending champion Gary McCord is among a group of eight at two-under 69, three strokes behind Eichelberger and Vucinich. Eight others shot 70 and eight more are at 71 in a tournament noted for crowding at the top of the leaderboard.

Since it moved to Newport Beach Country Club in 1994, there has never been a solo leader after the first round.

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LEADERS

Dave Eichelberger 33-33--66

Roy Vucinich 33-33--66

Larry Nelson 32-35--67

Howard Twitty 34-33--67

Jose Maria Canizares 34-35--69

Hubert Green 33-36--69

Gary McCord 35-34--69

Tom Jenkins 33-36--69

Isao Aoki 35-34--69

George Archer 36-33--69

Allen Doyle 35-34--69

Joe Inman 35-34--69

OTHERS

Lee Trevino 36-35--71

Bruce Fleisher 34-37--71

Hale Irwin 35-37--72

Tom Kite 36-36--72

Lanny Wadkins 37-41--78

Arnold Palmer 38-41--79

Today’s Pairings

Starting times for today’s second round of the Toshiba Senior Classic at Newport Beach Country Club:

7:40--Jimmy Powell, Jay Sigel, Dave Hill

7:50--Arnold Palmer, Don Bies, Bob Lendzion

8--Lanny Wadkins, Jim Dent, Bob Duval

8:10--Tom Wargo, Dave Stockton, Ray Carrasco

8:20--Orville Moody, Buzz Thomas, Gene Littler

8:30--David Lundstrom, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Miller Barber

8:40--Dale Douglass, Larry Ziegler, Bruce Summerhays

8:50--Rocky Thompson, Mark Hayes, Jerry McGee

9--Steve Veriato, Kikuo Arai, Tom Shaw

9:10--Harold Henning, J.C. Snead, Leonard Thompson

9:20--David Graham, John Mahaffey, Dewitt Weaver

9:30--Calvin Peete, John Bland, Jim Colbert

9:40--Mike McCullough, Ed Dougherty, Butch Baird

9:50--Walter Zembriski, Walter Hall, Frank Conner

10--Fred Gibson, Kermit Zarley, Tom Kite

10:10--Bob Eastwood, Hale Irwin, Walter Morgan

10:20--Terry Dill, Dean Overturf, Bob Dickson

10:30--Al Geiberger, Bob Charles, Jim Albus

10:40--Bill Brask, John Jacobs, Bruce Fleisher

10:50--Tom McGinnis, Hugh Baiocchi, Jim Thorpe

11--Dana Quigley, Graham Marsh, Jim Ahern

11:10--Allen Doyle, Joe Inman, John Morgan

11:20--George Archer, Tommy Aaron, Lee Trevino

11:30--Gary McCord, Tom Jenkins, Isao Aoki

11:40--Howard Twitty, Jose Maria Canizares, Hubert Green

11:50--Dave Eichelberger, Roy Vucinich, Larry Nelson

FAME IS NOT JENKINS’ GAME: Tom Jenkins, despite 17 top-10 finishes and $1.7 million in prize money last season, still isn’t very well-known. Page 6