In conditions the golfers described as benign, Tom Kite shoots 8-under 63 to take a one-stroke lead in Outback.
By BOB HARIG
Published February 21, 2004
[Times photos: Bill Serne]
First-round leader Tom Kite laughs with Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks. Kite had eight birdies and no bogeys.
Hale Irwin didn't like his drive at the ninth hole. He saved par on it but shot 70 for the round, seven strokes behind leader Tom Kite.
LUTZ - Before Vijay Singh came along, nobody tore up a driving range like Tom Kite. Nor relished doing so as much. The man worked on his golf game, and his efforts paid off with a career that included 19 PGA Tour titles, a U.S. Open victory and Ryder Cup captaincy.
Today at age 54, with nearly $17-million in career earnings, Kite has nothing left to prove, although you'd never know it by the way he approaches life on the Champions Tour.
"I don't think there is anybody who works harder, still," Larry Nelson said. "He's the first guy here and the last guy to leave. I've always been impressed with that."
Also impressive was Kite's 8-under-par 63 Friday during the first round of the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am, which gave him a one-stroke lead over Nelson and Mike McCullough and a two-shot advantage over John Bland and David Eger.
A six-time winner on the Champions Tour, Kite had eight birdies and no bogeys to lead a field that saw a rare windless day at the TPC of Tampa Bay. The course also might have been set up a tad easier because of the 72 amateurs who played alongside the pros in the event's new pro-am format.
In fact, perhaps it was some good Outback karma that helped Kite. One of the restaurant chain's founders, Chris Sullivan, is his amateur partner. They shot a best-ball, handicap-aided 12-under-par 59 to lead the pro-am competition.
"Chris is a nice, steady player who keeps the ball in play, and he helped the team four shots," Kite said.
The conditions dictated a player go low to have any hope of winning the title and the $240,000 first prize on Sunday. Other than yelling "Fore!" more than they are used to because of the format, the word most used Friday was benign.
"I've never seen it this easy," said Nelson, who was beginning his round as Kite was posting 63.
"When you're eight behind starting out, it kind of gets you in a mood where you know you have to make a lot of birdies," said Nelson, who won in 1999 and has 17 Champions Tour titles.
"The weather was absolutely perfect for scoring," said South Africa's Bland, 58, who finished third to Bruce Fleisher two weeks ago in Key Biscayne. "A fabulous day to play golf. The course is in magnificent condition, there were a lot of birdies out there. If the weather stays like this, I think it could go very, very low."
Dana Quigley and Gil Morgan shot 66 to trail by three, with defending champion Fleisher in a group of eight at 67, four back. There were 34 players who broke par, 11 more than a year ago when Fleisher's winning total was 205, 8 under.
"When you get a day like this, you really need to jump on it," Quigley said. "This course can really get you."
Kite knows that well. Two years ago, he was in position to win, having shot 66 during the first two rounds. He trailed eventual winner Doug Tewell by a stroke when he arrived at the par-5 12th, where he deposited his second shot into the water and made double bogey. Another double two holes later led to 75 and a tie for fifth.
It was putting that kept Kite from winning last year. He blames the short stick for his lack of trophies and has gone back to an old putter and an old stroke to try to get the ball in the hole quicker.
"The challenge is if I can get my putting and chipping back approaching the level it was in the '70s and '80s and early '90s. ... If I could get it approaching that, then who knows what could happen," Kite said. "There is still an awful lot of time. It's frustrating at times, disappointing at times when I don't perform as well as I should. Especially when I'm missing short putts."
Kite was hardly complaining, however.
"I'm loving the challenge," he said. "To be 54 years old and still have something I get excited about ... there are a lot of people at this stage of life who are not motivated or excited to get up in the morning."
