Every shot is a recovery for Simpson

Tim Simpson’s biggest health issue these days is his weight.

“I’m heavier than I want to be,” he said. “I’d like to lose another 15 pounds.”

Considering what he has been through the last 17 years, though, being a little out of shape isn’t too bad.

Neither is his position at the top of the leaderboard at the Toshiba Classic. Simpson shot an eight-under-par 63 Friday in the first round of the Champions Tour event at Newport Beach Country Club and leads 2005 winner Mark Johnson by a stroke.

Not bad for a guy who calls himself “a walking miracle” after undergoing brain surgery three years ago to implant an electrode that helps control Parkinson’s-like shaking in his left hand.

Simpson has a hole in his head where the electrode was implanted, a wire that runs through his neck and into his chest, where it is attached to a power pack -- what Simpson calls “a generator.”

“I’m grateful to be playing,” he said. “I shouldn’t be playing any more. The fact that I am able to play again and to compete is really remarkable.”

Simpson was a four-time winner on the PGA Tour from 1985 to 1990.

He was sixth on the money list in 1989, eighth in 1990 and cracked the top 20 in the world rankings.

But on a hunting trip in 1991, he contracted Lyme disease, which eventually led to the uncontrollable tremors.

It forced him to leave the game in 1997. He tried coming back in 2004 but was playing so poorly that he decided to try the electrode surgery.

“I went from top 10 to out of the game completely,” Simpson said. “I’ve been give a second chance and I try to make the best of it.”

He did exactly that Friday.

After an uneventful start of five consecutive pars on the back nine, he made eight birdies in an 11-hole stretch, including four in a row on his 13th-16th holes.

“Because of the length of the course and the excellent condition of the course, you can take it deep out here,” he said.

And with a logjam of golf luminaries lined up behind, it’s clear that he’ll have to keep taking it deep.

Defending champion Jay Haas, Bernard Langer and qualifier Mike Goodes are two shots behind at six under, with Craig Stadler, Ben Crenshaw, Bruce Lietzke and D.A. Weibring at 66.

Scott Hoch, winner of the last two Champions Tour events, leads a group of nine players who are four shots back at 67.

“You can be aggressive and I think that’s the mind-set I have and a lot of guys do,” said Haas, who set a tournament record by shooting 19 under over three rounds last year. “You just got to go for it and hopefully putt well.”

Johnson, for one, is taking that approach. After winning the Toshiba in 2005 and then finishing second in 2006, the former beer truck driver from Barstow hasn’t done much to speak of on tour.

He lost his playing privileges after only one top-10 finish last season. He is playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption and is trying to Monday qualify to get into events this season.

“It’s not a good place to try to make a living out here, to be honest with you,” Johnson said. “It’s been a long, probably year and a half. . . . It was nice to finish, to have a clean scorecard. I had seven birdies and no hiccups, which was nice.”

The 63 for Simpson was also nice. It matches his career-low round since joining the PGA Tour in 1977 and this is the first time he has led a tournament since a Nike Tour event in 1995.

“I’ll take it,” Simpson said. “It was a good day for me.”

And these days, aren’t they all.

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peter.yoon@latimes.com