Scott Parel fired a 7-under-par 63 to grab the first-round lead at the Rogers Charity Classic on Friday in Calgary.
Parel’s seven-birdie, zero-bogey outing put him one stroke ahead of Wes Short Jr., Scott McCarron and Mario Tiziani, who are tied for second. A large group tied two back at 5-under 65 features New Zealand’s Steven Alker, Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez and Boo Weekley.
Parel, 59, hasn’t won on the PGA Tour Champions since April 2022. He hadn’t even broken 70 in his past 20 rounds.
He said his putting had been holding him back until he got a tip from his coach this week.
“My putts, I felt like, were starting right of where I was intending,” Parel said. “(My coach) just said, ‘You know what, your golf swing has been very good, slow tempo, and your putting stroke used to have very good, slow tempo,’ and I got to where … I wasn’t letting the putter get back. I was going through.
“So he said, ‘Just be patient. Just be patient. Let that club get back just like in your golf swing.’ Yeah, so that helped today.”
McCarron turned his round around by making two eagles over his final eight holes, at Nos. 11 and 18, both par-5s. His latter eagle was a putt in the 54-foot range with multiple breaks.
“(The eagle) got a big reaction,” McCarron said. “I kind of walked it in the last 10 feet with the arms raised, so it was kind of cool. It was fun.”
Tiziani started his round on the back nine and birdied his first four holes, adding another at No. 15 for good measure. He finished his day with seven birdies and a single bogey, and he hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation.
“The scores that the elite players are shooting out here, if I think I’m going to win a golf tournament, I think I got to play a little more aggressive,” said Tiziani, who has yet to win on the PGA Tour Champions. “They shoot low scores every round, and I just feel like I have to have that mentality to — not play, you know, out of my comfort zone, but sometimes I think I play a little bit more not to make a mistake, and you’re just not going to win out here playing that way.”
Short also eagled the 11th hole to go with five birdies and one bogey.
Stephen Ames, a Canadian who’s No. 2 in the Charles Schwab Cup points race, shot a 3-under 67. Defending champion Ken Duke opened with a 1-under 69, as did Ernie Els of South Africa, the Charles Schwab Cup leader.
–Field Level Media