Associated Press
Friday, July 7

COLUMBIA, Md. -- A star in Spain, Jose Marie Canizares has tried for years to earn his first victory on American soil.

The wait might soon be over.

	Christy O'Connor birdied three of the par-5s during his 66.

Combining a sweet putting touch with an ample long game, Canizares made 10 birdies Friday en route to a course-record 8-under 64 and a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the State Farm Senior Classic.

Defending champion Christy O'Connor Jr. made four straight birdies on the front nine and finished with a 66. Buoyed by an eagle on the 558-yard par-5 15th hole, Leonard Thompson shot a 67.

Jim Thorpe, who overcame a double-bogey, and James Masserio were tied at 68.

Canizares began the day by three-putting from 30 feet on No. 1, but for the most part his putter was solid. He made 15-footers for birdies on Nos. 3 and 6, sank a 30-foot birdie putt on 11, made a 40-footer on 17 and chipped within 16 feet of the 18th hole before completing his third straight birdie.

"It was one of my best rounds," he said. "I've hit the ball better than that, but on the greens my play was better than normal. I had a lucky day with my putting."

He broke the Hobbit's Glen course record of 65 held by five players, including O'Connor, who last year parlayed his sparkling opening round into his first victory on the Senior Tour.

Canizares can only hope for a similar fate.

Content to play in his homeland during the peak of his career, Canizares made a name for himself on the European Tour and on four Ryder Cup teams. He beat Fuzzy Zoeller in 1985 to help the Europeans to their first Ryder Cup win in 28 years and in 1989 beat Ken Green to clinch another victory for the Europeans.

When he turned 50 in 1997, Canizares finally took his game to the United States.

"I figured better late than never," he said.

Canizares endured a frustrating inaugural season in which he struggled with the English language and to qualify to play. After competing in only seven tournaments in 1997, he earned his card in 1998 and has topped $1 million in earnings in each of the last two years.

But he's never won a tournament, falling three times in playoffs.

"I think I need a little more ambition," Canizares said. "I like the good life and the easy life. Maybe I need a little more determination to win out here."

Another two rounds like the first one ought to do the trick. His 31 on the back nine -- six birdies, one bogey -- was also a course record.

"It would be important to win this tournament," he said. "Like when you have children, the first one is always different than the ones that follow."

While Canizares seeks to win his first Senior title, O'Connor is vying to successfully defend a tournament title for the first time in his career. The Irishman got off to a fine start Friday, following two pars with four straight birdies.

He missed a 5-foot eagle putt on No. 5 but made up for that with a 75-foot birdie putt on No. 6. He finished with six birdies and no bogeys.

"I was very happy with the round," he said. "I had a lot of good saving putts and missed a lot that I usually make. So I guess it evened out."

Thompson said that he wasn't completely healthy early in the year, but solved the problem in late April and now has much more energy.

He has five top-10 finishes in his last seven events and is in position for a big weekend. He had two bogeys, five birdies and an eagle in which he hit a 3-wood within 20 feet of the pin.

"It's the kind of round you like to get started with," he said. "I played very nice. I didn't hit any squirrely shots."