Paul Stankowski and Mario Tiziani each shot 7-under-par 65 to share the first-round lead at the Chubb Classic on Thursday in Naples, Fla.
Both Stankowski and Tiziani, who lead Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson by a shot, are vying for their first win on the PGA Tour Champions.
Stankowski converted five of his nine birdies on the back nine at Tiburon Golf Club, including four in a row at Nos. 12-15 before one last birdie at the par-5 18th.
“Tell you what, offseason was long and didn’t play a whole lot of golf,” said Stankowski, 55. “Revamped my swing. Spent most the time in the gym.
“Came in here really rusty, and if you ask my pro-am partners the last three days, I think I made two birdies in three days. It was nice to see a few putts go in, and things started feeling pretty good from the start.”
Tiziani had a hot start, with five birdies and one bogey through six holes. After reaching 5 under with a birdie at No. 11, he eagled the par-5 12th.
“It’s been a blast. I have to pinch myself,” Tiziani, 54, said of playing on the tour. “I essentially quit the game when I was 40. I’ve had some success and people have been great, and I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with the greats that I didn’t really have a chance to do when I was on the PGA Tour.
“Yeah, I feel super fortunate, and there is a lot of the encouragement from guys out here, you know, about my game, which helps because I don’t know, sometimes I feel like I can do great things, but who knows.”
Jacobson also had a hot stretch for himself, making four straight birdies at Nos. 6-9.
“It’s one of those courses that if you can drive the ball well off the tee you’re going to probably set yourself up with quite a few chances,” he said. “I was struggling a little last week and then it’s a tricky course, but today I think I only missed one fairway so I really tried to focus on dialing in the fairways and putting good swings on it, and that gave me a lot of chances. Made a few.”
Tied for fourth at 5-under 67 were Tom Lehman, Joe Durant, Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke and South Africa’s Ernie Els. Defending champion Stephen Ames of Canada opened with an even-par 72.
–Field Level Media
