Jerry Kelly made a hole-in-one at the par-3 sixth hole to help himself card a 5-under 66 and grab the first-round lead at the ClubCorp Classic on Friday in Irving, Texas.
After starting on the back nine, Kelly was 2 under through 14 holes when his tee shot at the 185-yard sixth found the cup for his 15th career ace.
“I had … a little more than 180 (yards), but the wind was down a little out of the right and I was going to hit an 8 and ride it, but it would have just been too far moving it right to left,” Kelly said. “So I hit a little hold 7 up in there and it just tracked the whole way and it went in, so (I’m a) happy guy.”
Kelly added a birdie on his closing hole, the par-4 ninth. He had just one bogey, four birdies and the ace.
Woody Austin, Scott Parel and Gene Sauers are a shot behind at 4-under 67. Sauers recovered from a double bogey at No. 14 by making six birdies, which led the field.
Jeff Maggert, Lee Janzen, Rob Labritz and New Zealand’s Steven Alker are tied for fifth at 3-under 68.
While a field of 78 Champions Tour golfers are playing their usual 54-hole stroke play format, the inaugural ClubCorp Classic also features a celebrity tournament utilizing the Stableford scoring system. Tony Romo took the lead in the celebrity flight with a score of 37.
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current CBS football analyst won two previous celebrity events held by the Champions Tour, the 2018 and 2019 American Century Championship.
Retired tennis pro Mardy Fish is second place behind Romo after shooting a 34, and LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam shot a 33 for third.
–Field Level Media
