Kite Soars to Lead in Hawaii

Tom Kite had two eagles in a course-record nine-under-par 63 Friday to take a three-stroke lead in the Senior PGA Tour’s season-opening MasterCard Championship at Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii.

Kite, who eagled Nos. 4 and 7 and had five birdies in the bogey-free round, hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation on the Hualalai Golf Club course.

Kite said the record-setting round was surprising, considering the shifting wind and that he didn’t touch a club for nearly a month during the off-season.

“It’s nice to come back refreshed, enthusiastic and excited about playing golf, but there’s some payback,” he said. “The golf swing is not where you want it to be, and the inconsistency is there. I guess that’s probably why the round was so surprising.”

Defending champion Larry Nelson opened with a 66.

Doug Tewell, who had a hole-in-one, was another stroke back along with Bob Gilder and Jim Colbert in the tournament limited to tour winners in the last two years and major champions in the last five.

Tewell’s ace, came on the 208-yard eighth. He used a four-iron to bend the shot right to left, and the ball rolled 15 feet into the hole.

No longer able to compete against players more than half his age, Jack Nicklaus said he has not decided whether he will play in the Masters, the major championship he won a record six times.

Nicklaus, who turns 62 Monday, has been plagued with back problems and has not played tournament golf since July 29, when he tied for third in the Senior British Open.

His health is improving, and Nicklaus plans to play in the Senior Skins Game next week in Hawaii against Hale Irwin, Arnold Palmer and Fuzzy Zoeller.

The Senior PGA Tour announced that two tournaments were being eliminated: the tournament in Charlotte, N.C., which started in 1979, and the Gold Rush Classic, which ended a 15-year run in the Sacramento area. A title sponsor could not be found for either tournament.