ENDICOTT, N.Y. — Red-faced from sweat and a growing sunburn, the 78 golfers participating in the PGA Tour Champions Dick’s Open cruised their way through En-Joie Golf Club in overwhelming heat.
But the sweltering heat didn’t phase anyone’s determination to make a good impression on Day 1.
With a career-best opening round of 9-under-72-par, Steve Allan stands alone as the top performer in the first round of the Dick’s Open.
Allan sat already 7-under par through the end of the front nine, picking up birdies in five holes and an eagle. He ended his day with two more birdies, including a long putt on the 18th Green to secure the 9-stroke lead.
The 51-year-old Australian already picked up his first career-Champions win during the Galleri Classic in March, but hadn’t cracked the top 10 since taking home the trophy. Now, he’s set the pace in a Dick’s Open that’s open for the taking for the first time since 2021.
“I’ve had a few rough holes, but managed to escape and get out of trouble,” Allan said. “And then the back nine, I played pretty solid, but not as good as the front.”
Allan’s bogie-free round made him one of two golfers inside the top 10 that didn’t go over par, the other being 52-year-old Jason Caron, who sits in third at 6-under-par. Doug Barron claimed the second-place spot over Caron, sitting at 7-under, after Caron missed his shot for birdie by just inches on 18. Caron’s pairing partner, Jerry Kelly, also finished in a tie for third at 6-under.
Still, Allan said he doubts he can completely match his top tier performance from Friday afternoon for the rest of the weekend. Instead, he’s focusing on his consistency — making birdies across all 18 holes and keeping his tee shots along the Fairway.
“You got to keep your head down and keep going,” Allan said. “You never know what you’re going to do the next day. You never know what the condition is going to be like. It does show that low scores are out there for everyone else. So, you know, if you’re going to stay up there and give yourself a chance, you’ve got to keep making some birdies.”
And still playing within arm’s reach, Rochester native Jeff Sluman strung together a performance that placed him in the top 10 of the first round. Sitting 4-under-par through the front nine, the 67-year-old held steady through all 18 holes, only bougieing once on 18 to end the day.
Sluman is making his 12th appearance in the Dick’s Open, and his first since 2022. He played the En-Joie Golf Club when the Dick’s Open was the BC Open as part of the PGA Tour.
This year’s Dick’s Open is Sluman’s second tournament in nearly a year, since he’s been taking time off to accommodate his age. However, he made sure that he got to play in this golf tournament one more time.
“The golf course is magnificent. What a treat,” he said. “I don’t know if everybody realizes what a special treat this is. They have a golf course like this in their backyard, in the condition it is, and the public can go out and play it on a daily basis. This is a rare thing to have in any community.”
It’s the closest thing to a hometown tournament as it gets for Sluman, and he said there’s that same homegrown feeling the other golfers relate to.
Sitting in the top 10 after 18 holes, Sluman’s focusing on maintaining the confidence he had throughout the afternoon.
“It rekindled the fact that I showed that I was a decent player at one time,” he said. “I really did play well. Today I had the ball absent the tee shot on 18 and the second shot. I mean it was really good. It could have been extremely low, not complaining for under. But it was nice to hit quality golf shot after quality golf shot.”
The second round begins at 7:50 a.m., with Allan, Barron and Kelly teeing off at 12:25 p.m.
With Padraig Harrington playing in the Genesis Scottish Open, Cameron Beckham is the most recent Dick’s Open champion participating in the tournament, winning the title in 2021. Despite an eagle on 12, he bougied four times in the opening round to finish 1-over-par. Barron is the other most recent champion in attendance.
Charles Schwab Cup leader Miguel Angel Jimenez had five birdies and two bogies to finish 3-under-par, sitting in a tie for 20th after the first round. He stayed 2-under throughout most of the day, until he picked up the offsetting birdie on 16 — his second shot from the green.
Round 1 results (par 72)
Steve Allan 63
Doug Barron 65
Jerry Kelly 66
Jason Caron 66
Alex Cejka 66
Tim O’Neal 66
Shane Bertsch 66
Felipe Aguilar 67
Paul Goydos 67
Michael Wright 68
Mario Tiziani 68
Gordon Burns 68
Mark Walker 68
David Brandsdon 68
Willie Wood 68
Jeff Sluman 68
Paul Stankowski 68
Gene Sauers 68
Chad Campbell 68
Jay Jurecic 69
John Huston 69
Miguel Angel Jiménez 69
Boo Weekly 69
Jeff Maggery 69
Harrison Frazar 69
Greg Chalmers 69
Kevin Sutherland 69
Kirk Triplett 69
Bo Van Pelt 69
Scott Parel 69
Robert Karlsson 70
Charlie Wi 70
Tag Ridings 70
Scott Hend 70
Soren Kjeldsen 70
Billy Andrade 70
Ernie Els 70
John Rollins 70
J.J. Henry 70
Y.E. Yang 70
Mark Wilson 70
Notah Begay III 70
Tom Pernice Jr. 70
Ken Duke 71
John Daly 71
Bernhard Langer 71
Paul Broadhurst 71
David Duval 71
Matt Gogel 71
Fred Funk 72
Michael Allen 72
Ken Tanigawa 72
Glen Day 72
Dicky Pride 72
Billy Mayfair 72
Rob Labritz 73
Cameron Beckman 73
Joe Durant 73
Mark Hensby 73
Brian Gay 73
Bob Estes 74
Tim Petrovic 74
Jason Bohn 74
Chris DiMarco 74
Carlos Franco 74
Brendan Jones 75
Rocco Mediate 75
Stephen Ames 75
Hiroyuki Fujita 75
John Senden 75
Brett Quigley 75
Neal Lancaster 75
Corey Pavin 76
Heath Slocum 76
Duffy Waldorf 76
Gary Hallbery 76
Derek Sanders 77
Michael Bradley 80
Round 2 starting times
7:50 – Gary Hallberg, Derek Sanders, Michael Bradley; 8:01 – Corey Pavin, Heath Slocum, Duffy Waldorf; 8:12 a.m. – John Senden, Brett Quigley, Neal Lancaster; 8:23 – Rocco Mediate, Stephen Ames, Hiroyuki Fujita; 8:34 – Chris DiMarco, Carlos Frano, Brendan Jones; 8:45 – Bob Estes, Tim Petrovic, Jason Bohn; 8:58 – Joe Durant, Mark Hensby, Brian Gay; 9:07 – Billy Mayfair, Rob Labritz, Cameron Beckham; 9:18 a.m. Ken Tanigawa, Glen Day, Dicky Pride; 9:29 – Matt Gogel, Fred Funk, Michael Allen; 9:40 – Bernhard Langer, Paul Broadhurst, David Duval; 9:51 – Tom Pernice Jr., Ken Duke, John Daly; 10:02 – Y.E. Yang, Mark Wilson, Notah Begay III; 10:13 – Ernie Els, John Rollins, J.J. Henry; 10:24 – Scott Hend, Soren Kjeldsen, Billy Andrade; 10:35 – Robert Karlsson, Charlie Wi, Tag Ridings; 10:46 – Kirk Triplett, Bo Van Pelt, Scott Parel; 10:57 – Harrison Frazar, Greg Chalmers, Kevin Sutherland; 11:08 – Miguel Angel Jimenez, Boo Weekley, Jeff Maggert; 11:19 – Chad Campbell, Jay Jurecic, John Huston; 11:30 – Jeff Sluman, Paul Stankowski, Gene Sauers; 11:41 – Mark Walker, David Brandson, Willie Wood; 11:52 – Michael Wright, Mario Tiziani, Gordon Burns; 12:03 – Shane Bertsch, Felipe Aguilar, Paul Goydos; 12:14 – Jason Caron, Alex Cejka, Tim O’Neal; 12:25 – Steve Allan, Doug Barron, Jerry Kelly
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