Strange (74) Starts Slowly in His Debut

Curtis Strange got off to a slow start in his Champions Tour debut, shooting a two-over-par 74 on Friday to fall eight strokes behind first-round leaders R.W. Eaks and Mike McCullough in the ACE Group Classic at Naples, Fla.

Strange, the two-time U.S. Open champion, had four birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey. He hit his second shot into the water on the final hole, but got up and down for a bogey. He birdied No. 13 and chipped in for a birdie on No. 14.

“There were some anxious moments because you want to play for so many, including yourself,” Strange said.

“But you also know that there are so many unknowns out there. All of those things combined make you uneasy at times.”

A television analyst for most of the last eight seasons, Strange won 17 PGA Tour titles, highlighted by his 1988 and 1989 U.S. Open victories. He also captained the 2002 U.S. Ryder Cup team.

“You can hit balls all you want or practice all you want, but where you really find out what you need to work on is when you go play a competitive round,” he said.

The 51-year-old Eaks, a three-time winner on the Nationwide Tour, birdied the last three holes on the TwinEagles course.

Hale Irwin, coming off a victory in the season-opening event in Hawaii, opened with a 67, and Ron Streck, Wayne Levi, Jim Thorpe, Jerry Pate and Leonard Thompson had 68s.