Woody Austin leads Senior British Open at Carnoustie
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Woody Austin made four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine and finished with a 4-under 68 to take the first-round lead in the Senior British Open.
The 52-year-old Austin rebounded from bogeys on Nos. 9 and 10 with birdies on 11, 12, 14 and 16. He has struggled after winning three times in four events this year on the PGA Tour Champions.
"It seems, I forgot how to play after that," Austin said. "It's been really bad since. It's been unfortunately a long stretch of really ugliness."
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Mark O'Meara was a stroke back along with Carlos Franco, Esteban Toledo, Joe Durant, Tom Byrum, Scott McCarron and Peter Fowler. Franco, from Paraguay, qualified Monday.
The wind was 10-15 mph at Carnoustie Golf Links with a mix of sun and clouds and a high in the 60s.
"I think the rain yesterday softened the course a little bit," O'Meara said. "We were pretty fortunate. The wind laid down just a little bit in the middle of our round out there, so it was a little bit more playable. But Carnoustie is a very demanding golf course. You have to drive the ball well. You have to be accurate with your iron shots, and then you've got to putt well."
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Austin won the last of his four PGA Tour titles in the 2013 Sanderson Farms Championship.
"I'm not into grinding," Austin said. "I'm not into beating a bunch of balls anymore. I did that for my 40 years. I'm done. So, I go home, I play with my kids, I play with my family. I own a golf course. I help run the golf course. I try to do the things I need to do there. You'll find me sometimes weeding, jumping on a mower and mowing. I hit balls usually maybe Saturday and Sunday the week before I go back out. That's it. That's my preparation. The only time I work on is when I get to the golf course."
Bernhard Langer, the winner in 2010 at Carnoustie, had a 71.
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Defending champion Marco Dawson opened with as 72. He won last year at Sunningdale.
Michael Bradley had a 74 in his senior debut. He won four times on the PGA Tour.