“Good shot, Gramps,” University of Denver men’s golf coach Eric Hoos said after R.W. Eaks’ pitch finished within a few feet of the cup on their final hole Wednesday.
Though “Gramps” has been Eaks’ nickname for a long time, it seemed particularly appropriate in a general sense during the first round of the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open.
The players at the top of the leaderboard in the 50-and-older tournament are veterans even by that age standard. Leader Jim Carson of Anaheim Hills, Calif., is 57, but second-place Tom Storey of Mesquite, Nev., is 70, and third-place R.W. Eaks (pictured) is 60.
Storey, winner of the PGA Tour’s Oklahoma City Open in 1977, shot three strokes under his age (67) Wednesday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club. And Colorado Springs native Eaks, the defending champion and a winner of four Champions Tour events, posted a 68.
Carson, winner of 55 mini-tour events in his career, made seven birdies in relatively windless afternoon conditions en route to a 6-under-par 66, which gave him a one-stroke edge over Storey.
“I feel blessed to have played in such benign conditions, for sure,” said Carson, who birdied four of his first five holes. “It helped without question.”
As for Storey, shooting under his age was hardly a new experience.
“I do it every time I play unless it’s a junior event from the back tees in a tournament,” said Storey, who has finished in the top five in three Colorado Senior Opens, besides placing third twice in the Colorado Open. “If it’s just regular tees, I always break my age.”
As far as Eaks goes, after winning the Colorado Senior Open last year at age 59, he finished 11th in the Colorado Open at age 60 this summer.
“I love this golf course,” said Eaks, fresh off a 28th-place finish last week in the Champions Tour’s Boeing Classic. “It fits my eye. How can you not try to play good here? The people are so nice, it’s unbelievable.
“The Colorado Open and the Colorado Senior Open are the best state opens in the country. They’re run the best, and the golf course is great. Sure, this is a big deal to me. It’d be nice to win this again.”
After getting into just one Champions Tour event in 2011, Eaks has competed in four Champions tournaments this year. The former University of Northern Colorado basketball player and golfer hopes to get in a couple of more, then plans to go to Champions qualifying in the fall.
“I’m pretty excited about playing again,” he said. “I feel a little bit better (physically). I still can’t walk, but I feel better.”
Better, but certainly not perfect. Eaks’ knees have been a chronic problem, and he suffered a pulled groin this week. “It’s always something new — always,” he said.
Only three players joined Carson, Storey and Eaks in breaking 70 on Wednesday. Bob Niger of El Dorado Hills, Calif., Mark Balen of Orchard Park, N.Y., and Brad Britton of Fountain Hills, Ariz., fired 69s. Niger has finished second and third in the last two Colorado Senior Opens.
For Storey, Wednesday was quite a round. He holed a 5-iron from 172 yards for eagle on No. 1 — his 10th hole — and another approach shot hit the pin and yet another lipped out.
On the down side, he missed a 30-inch birdie putt on his final hole.
“The fact that one of (the long approach shots) went in made up for my three-putt and a couple others,” the three-time Nevada Open champion said. “I pretty much had an easy birdie putt on every hole. I shot pretty much what I should have shot. There wasn’t much lucky crap going on.”
Ironically, though Carson made seven birdies Wednesday, he saw his only bogey as the highlight of his round. On the par-3 17th (his eighth hole), his tee shot buried under the lip of the bunker. In fact, he had to rake the sand just to find his ball, then he had to recreate the lie.
Despite having to hit the ball almost vertical, he got it out onto the fringe, then two-putted from 60 feet for bogey.
“I was delighted with that,” Carson said. “I was pleased with the outcome because it could have been nasty. It was very daunting, but we got it done.”
Notable: Eric Hoos, the low amateur in last year’s Colorado Senior Open, is still battling shoulder problems and struggled to an 80 on Wednesday. … Another player dealing with ailments — in his case neck-related — 2009 Senior Open champion Bill Loeffler, managed a 74 after starting bogey-double bogey. … After Day 1, David Delich of Colorado Springs leads the competition for low-amateur following an even-par 72. … The field will be cut to the top 55 players and ties after Thursday’s second round.
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