Padraig Harrington posted an 8-under 64 to grab the first-round lead at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship on Thursday in Frisco, Texas.
Eight birdies and no bogeys formed the Irishman’s stellar round, giving him a two-shot cushion over Katsumasa Miyamoto of Japan, who shot a 6-under 66.
Harrington, 51, made the cut at last week’s PGA Championship and tied for 50th, so his game was in great form entering the week at Fields Ranch East, a new course at PGA Frisco hosting its first major championship.
He birdied four holes on the front nine and four on the back, including a chip-in birdie at the par-4 10th.
“I had only, I think I had 170 yards into the wind, I hit a 7-iron that came up probably six yards short in the fringe and I just had to chip it over the collar and I chipped it in,” Harrington said. “So there - it did a 360 too. So there was the highlight.”
Harrington also made a 35-foot putt for his first birdie of the day at the par-4 second.
Miyamoto was happy with his 66, which included a 50-foot par putt that dropped at No 15. The 50-year-old is a veteran of the Japan Golf Tour and rarely played in the United States.
Adilson da Silva of Brazil, who had a bogey-free, 5-under 67, is tied for third place with Phillip Price of Wales.
Padraig Harrington
