Dougherty leads after first round of Senior Open

A torrid back nine has given Ed Dougherty the first day lead atthe U-S Senior Open. After eight holes, Dougherty stood three over par,but he birdied the ninth then raced through the back nine with two eaglesand two birdies to finish four under 68. His 30 on the back nine equalled arecord for the best nine holes in a senior open. Three players are tied forsecond, two strokes back, including Bruce Summerhays. In fact all but ahandfull of the rounds under par were posted by players who teed off beforenine am. Walter Hall and Dr. Gil Morgan are also two strokes back, defendingchampion Hale Irwin leads a group at one under.Bruce Summerhays is among a group of players two strokes back. He expectsplayers to continue to have difficulty playing below par.Dr. Gil Morgan was one of the few under par rounds to be posted in theafternoon as he finished two under and said he had chances to post an evenbetter score.Arnold Palmer struggled from the outset of his round and finished with anine over 81. He says its typical of the way he’s been playing and says itisn’t much fun.As expected, Palmer drew a huge following around the course.