ALOHA, Ore. - Fuzzy Zoeller was happy and Jim Ahern was hopeful.
The opening-round co-leaders both put together three-hole birdie runs on the back nine Thursday in 6-under 66s at the Jeld-Wen Tradition, the year's final major on the Champions Tour.
Zoeller said he expected to do well on the 7,200-yard Reserve Vineyards Golf Club course.
"I've always enjoyed playing this course, and I've had a good feeling for it," he said. "Any time you can get out and play golf for a living, it's a great life."
Zoeller barely broke par on the front nine after bogeying the par-3 second, but he started the back nine with three straight birdies before adding two more on 15 and 16, both par 5s.
"Some people push the red button when they bogey one of the first couple of holes," Zoeller said. "But heck, I was just getting started."
Ahern, on the other hand, kept a steady pace until the final three holes, when everything went just right to finish with three birdies.
He landed a perfect 8-iron shot 15 feet from the cup on the difficult approach to the 17th green, tucked behind trees along a creek that cost many other players penalty strokes. And on the final hole, he crushed a 5-wood 245 yards to the back fringe of the green and narrowly missed an eagle putt.
Ahern said he knew Zoeller had finished at 6 under well ahead of him, but he was just "taking it shot by shot" as he found the right rhythm for the final three holes.
He said he has been pushing himself to finish in the top 30 on the Champions Tour money list this year after winning the Music City Championship in June, only the third win in his pro career.
"It's a goal of mine," said Ahern, who has slipped from 24th to 35th over the past two months. "But I'm trying not to get ahead of myself."
Hale Irwin and Graham Marsh finished with 67 and six players - Wayne Levi, Tom Kite, Tom Watson, Bruce Fleisher, David Eger and Morris Hatalsky - were another stroke back at 68.
Irwin had his own string of three birdies, beginning on 15, but said he was unhappy with his overall play.
"I hit some very, very poor shots out there, but fortunately I got away with them," said Irwin, whose back problems have limited his play.
Irwin, the senior tour leader with 37 victories, said his back bothered him Thursday despite steady improvement in his score.
"I hit enough nice putts to salvage a very good round," Irwin said. "On paper it looked very good."
Marsh, only one of two players to birdie the slippery green on No. 2, also had three straight birdies on the second nine, beginning at 14.
"Everything went right for me," Marsh said. "Even when I missed a green, I missed it in the right place."
Defending champion Jim Thorpe led most of the round, topping the leaderboard at 3 under after the front nine, including eagle 2 on the 337-yard fifth after lofting a wedge at the pin.
Thorpe had gone to 6 under by No. 15 before dropping back with bogey and double-bogey after finding the water on 16 and 17.
Jack Nicklaus, a four-time winner of the final major on the Champions Tour, finished at par 72.
STATE FARM CLASSIC: Candie Kung, coming off her second LPGA Tour win of the year, shot 8-under 64 for a two-shot lead after the first round in Springfield, Ill.
Kung had six birdies, including a 30-foot putt on 18, and an eagle in matching her low round of the season.
Hee-Won Han, also a two-time winner this year, shot 66.
Kung has quickly turned into a serious contender in her second season on tour. She won last weekend at the Wachovia Classic by two strokes over Se Ri Pak and Meg Mallon.
She got off to a sluggish start Thursday, but there was no letdown.
"I was actually a little tired this morning. On the first hole I was almost falling asleep," Kung said. "But I just kept myself in there playing hole by hole and ended up at 8 under, and I'm happy with that."
She and a host of players took advantage of calm conditions in the morning rounds and of the par-72 Rail Golf Course's wide fairways and soft greens.
Han, fifth on the LPGA money list this year, missed the cut in the previous two State Farm Classics. She made the turn at par Thursday, then had five straight birdies on the back nine, including a 25-foot putt on 17.
Michelle McGann, the 1996 tournament champion, Kristi Albers, Leslie Spalding, Pat Hurst and Tammie Green were at 67.
Spalding of Tampa briefly had the clubhouse lead - a bright spot in a season of struggling to make cuts. She credited extra work on her putting last week, a better attitude and luck.
Brisk winds and hot weather meant little movement on the leaderboard in the afternoon, but more than half the field of 144 shot par or better. Pak, the tour's No. 2 player, shot 70 and was in a large group at 2 under.
BMW OPEN: France's Raphael Jacquelin tied a course record with 10-under 62 for a two-stroke lead over defending champion Thomas Bjorn and three others after one round at Nord-Eichenried, Germany.
Jacquelin, who shot a course-record 62 in the first round of the Nordic Open on Aug. 7, made 10 birdies, including six on the back nine at Munich Nord-Eichenried Golf Club.
Bjorn, trying to win the European PGA tournament for the third time in four years, closed with eight birdies on his last 10 holes for 8-under 64 and shared second with Germany's Marcel Siem and England's David Howell and Gary Emerson.
Ernie Els had a round that included eagle, five birdies and three bogeys and was six strokes back 68.
