Billy Andrade among 3 tied for lead at Regions Tradition
Send a link to a friend
[May 12, 2023]
Billy Andrade drained five birdies without a bogey to earn a
share of the lead after one round of the Regions Tradition, the
first major on the PGA Tour Champions calendar, on Thursday in
Birmingham, Ala.
Joining Andrade at 67 were Timothy O'Neal, a first alternate who
made two eagles, and England's Paul Broadhurst, who made four of his
seven birdies during his second nine.
Big names are on their tails. Defending champion Steve Stricker,
Irishman Padraig Harrington, South Africa's Ernie Els and Ken Duke
are tied for fourth at 4-under 68. Germany's Bernhard Langer is part
of a six-way tie for eighth at 3-under 69.
Andrade, 59, won three Champions Tour events in 2015 but has not
broken through since. He finished runner-up at the Tradition in
2019.
Andrade made the turn at Greystone Golf & Country Club in 1 under
before getting hot. He birdied the par-4 11th and strung together
three birdies in a row at Nos. 13-15.
"I started feeling better with my putter, got some more feel with
it, and made a few putts there in the middle," Andrade said. "I made
a minor adjustment in my stance and I started getting the ball going
where I wanted it to go. I hit some nice shots where they weren't
long putts, they were in there, so all in all I had a great day."
O'Neal, 50, is making his tournament debut and just his 10th start
on the 50-and-over circuit. He started his round on the back nine
and eagled the par-5 18th. Then, after a bogey at No. 1, he came to
another par 5 and eagled the second hole.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/graue_lda_4_2021.png)
O'Neal followed that up with two straight birdies
at Nos. 3-4 for a boost to 5 under.
"I drove it well, started on the back nine and was able to hit
4-iron into the 18-green to about 5 feet for eagle," O'Neal said.
"Then the other eagle was on the first par 5 on the front 9, hole 2.
I was able to hit 8-iron in there and made about a 12-footer for
eagle.
"I was finally able to start making some putts and hopefully I can
continue doing that."
After also starting his round on the back nine, Broadhurst had three
birdies and two bogeys on the card through 11 holes. The par-4 third
began a run of three birdies for him, and he added one at the par-4
eighth.
Unlike Andrade and O'Neal, the 57-year-old Broadhurst has senior
majors on his resume. He was victorious at the 2016 Senior Open
Championship and the 2018 Senior PGA.
--Field Level Media
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/May/12/images/ads/current/ldn_sda_KAREN_012823.png) |