ENDICOTT, N.Y. - Steve Lowery shot 8-under-par 64 Thursday and held a two-shot lead after the first round of the B.C. Open.
Lowery, who missed eight cuts and had two withdrawals in 18 events this year, led Barry Cheesman, John Maginnes, Alex Cejka and Harrison Frazar.
Senior Players Championship winner Craig Stadler, 19-year-old Ty Tryon and Nationwide Tour player Jim McGovern were among 15 players another shot back at 5 under.
Conditions on the narrow 6,974-yard En-Joie Golf Club course were nearly ideal, with blue skies, temperatures in the high 70s and little wind. And the players took advantage - more than 50 broke 70.
"You could really be aggressive out there," said McGovern, playing in only his fourth PGA event of the year. It was perfect."
Maybe that's what Lowery needed. In his past four rounds, he shot 74, 72, 73, and 76 in missing the cuts at the Western Open and Greater Milwaukee Open. A 26-foot putt for eagle-3 on his third hole, the 545-yard No. 12, provided a huge early lift in his second-best round of the year.
BIG APPLE CLASSIC: Mi-Hyun Kim made four birdie putts of 15 feet or longer in a 5-under 66 that gave her a one-stroke lead over Liz Earley and Silvia Cavalleri with eight players another shot back at the LPGA Tour event in New Rochelle, N.Y.
