BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kenny Perry won his third Champions Tour major in the past year with a one-stroke victory over Mark Calcavecchia on Sunday in the Regions Tradition.

Perry closed with an even-par 72 at Shoal Creek to finish at 7-under 281, while other contenders had up-and-down days and John Cook lost the lead with a double hit.

Perry bogeyed No. 15 but retook the lead with a birdie on the next hole and lined up an easy par putt on the closing hole.

Calcavecchia finished with a 70. Two-time winner Tom Lehman closed with a 67 to tie Jay Haas at 5 under. Haas closed with a 71. Cook’s closing 72 put him three strokes back.

Perry got his sixth victory and became the second player to win in three consecutive Champions Tour major starts, joining Gary Player, who did it in 1987-88.

Perry won the Senior Players Championship and U.S. Senior Open in consecutive tour starts last year, then skipped the Senior British Open.

It was the highest score for a Tradition winner.

Fred Couples was disqualified Sunday after missing his tee time. He was 9 over after a 73 Saturday, his best round. Couples also withdrew from the Senior PGA next week at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

Cook’s double bogey on No. 14 cost him the lead.

Cook’s ball was buried deep in the right bunker just under the lip, and appeared to ricochet backward before winding up a couple of feet out of the sand.

Tour officials reviewed the bunker shot using phone video shot by an event staffer and determined that Cook hit it again on his back swing.

“Golf Channel didn’t have a great view of it but there was someone with the event who was shooting social media video of it that had a face-on angle, and it was clear that he double hit it,” said Brian Claar, the Champions Tour’s vice president for competition.

Cook declined a chance to review it himself and said he hadn’t been sure what happened.

“That was bizarre,” he said. “I told Todd, my caddie, `You better move that bag because if this ball hits the lip it could go anywhere.’ And that’s what I thought it did. I didn’t hear anything. All I felt was my club hitting the lip of the bunker and then the sand catching the club.

“Evidently in all that, it hit my club head. I’m good with that. If it shows on TV, I can honestly say I didn’t feel anything but I don’t want to take something that wasn’t there.”

Cook returned a couple of weeks ago after a 10-week layoff because of a fractured rib in his back.

“If someone would have said that I’d have a one-shot lead with five to play this week, I’d have said, `You’re nuts,'” he said.

Calcavecchia had another near-miss at Shoal Creek. He had bogeys on Nos. 9 and 13 after missing short putts, and said he missed five during the week of 3 feet or less.

“I’ve never won a tournament doing that and I don’t think anybody has,” Calcavecchia said

He led after 36 and 54 holes at Shoal Creek in 2011 before a final-round 75 cost him a lead that had ballooned as high as six strokes.

Calcavecchia was plagued by nagging rib problems that pained him after swings.

“I was hurting all day,” he said, adding that he wasn’t sure if he’d play in the Senior PGA.

On the Canadian front, Rod Spittle claimed a share of 31st at 4-over 292. Jim Rutledge was 10-over and tied for 53rd.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kenny Perry’s driver is sailing long and true again, just like the one he used to win two major championships last year.

Perry shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday at Shoal Creek to take a one-stroke lead over John Inman after the third round of the Regions Tradition.

He is seeking his third Champions Tour major title after winning the Senior Players Championship and U.S. Senior Open in consecutive tour starts last year.

Perry switched drivers after his first-round 72. The one he used to win both majors last year was destroyed on a flight from New York to Seattle for the Boeing Classic last August when the airline “killed it.”

“I’ve struggled ever since,” Perry said. “I did win the AT&T at the end of last year to hang on and win the Charles Schwab Cup, but I didn’t really play great and I haven’t played very well this year either.

“I’ve been fighting driver woes so hopefully this is a turn in the right direction and this driver’s going to solve my problems.”

Perry had a 7-under 209 total. He had four birdies and bogeyed No. 16, savoring the warm, sunny weather after two rounds in cooler temperatures and playing “very consistent, very solid golf.”

Inman, a two-time PGA Tour winner who coached at the University of North Carolina, shot a 66 after two even-par rounds. He had seven birdies before his first slip-up, a bogey on No. 16.

“I just hit a lot of solid shots,” Inman said. “I didn’t drive the ball as well as I would have liked, but when I drove it in the rough, I just hit some miraculous shots.”

His big putt was some 20 feet on No. 7.

Steve Elkington, second-round leader Mark Calcavecchia, Jay Haas, John Cook, Jeff Maggert, Olin Browne and Tom Pernice Jr. were 4 under.

Perry’s best finish on the tour this season was a fifth-place tie at the Toshiba Classic. The 54-hole leader has won only one of the last seven majors.

He made nearly matching 12-15-foot uphill putts on Nos. 12 and 13 to take a two-shot lead.

His only bogey on 16 came when his bunker shot went long and he missed the putt, but he bounced back with an 8-footer for par on the next hole.

A light rain had been replaced by sunshine by the time the leaders teed off, but for the third straight day they were allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls.

“Still the scores are high,” Perry said. “Whenever you let a pro get his hands on it, the scores really tend to drop pretty low but this golf course is really beating us up with the swirling winds. We had South winds today. We played northwest winds the first two rounds.”

Calcavecchia began the round with a one-stroke lead over Haas, but both struggled.

Calcavecchia had a double bogey on No. 11 on his way to a 74. He lost a six-stroke Saturday lead in the 2011 Regions Tradition, largely thanks to a pair of double bogeys on 12.

“Two wrong clubs and a chunk wedge in the water on 11, that’s two bogeys and a double,” Calcavecchia said. “I actually hung in there pretty good for that.”

He said nagging rib problems plagued him for the third straight day, this time starting on the second hole.

Haas shot a 73 to snap the tour’s longest streak of par or better at 23 rounds. He had three straight bogeys starting on the second hole and didn’t have a birdie until No. 10.

The conditionally exempt Inman’s best finish in his first three tournaments of the year was a tie for 15th at the Allianz Championship in February.

He played in 14 events in 2013, mostly through the career victory category thanks to his PGA Tour wins, and didn’t finish better than ninth.

He’s the younger brother of former PGA Tour and Champions Tour winner Joe Inman. Only three sets of brothers have won on the Champions Tour – Bobby and Lanny Wadkins, Bart and Brad Bryant and Dave and Mike Hill.

The siblings both had successful Saturdays. Joe Inman coached Georgia State into its first NCAA championship since 2007 and his little brother followed with a big round.

“It feels good to get in because I’ve only played three events this year and I just need to play,” Inman said.

Defending champion David Frost was 2 under after a 71r. Tom Watson, the Tradition winner in 2011 and 2012, was even after a 72.

Canada’s Rod Spittle is tied for 31st at 3-over 219. Jim Rutledge was tied for 59th at 9-over 225.

Fred Couples shot a 73 and was 8 over.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Mark Calcavecchia made an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole Friday to take a one-stroke lead over Jay Haas after the second round of the Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek.

Calcavecchia shot his second straight 3-under 69 to reach 6 under, while Haas had a 70 after they came in as part of a four-way tie at the Champions Tour major.

Haas missed a 4-footer on No. 18 to give Calcavecchia a shot at sole possession of the lead at the midway point. Calcavecchia said finishing with a birdie improves his mood, lead or no lead.

“It really doesn’t matter, other than the fact that I’m happier that I made the putt on the last hole, made the 8-footer for birdie as opposed to missing it,” said Calcavecchia, who is seeking his first Champions Tour win since the 2012 Montreal Championship. “Sixty-nine sounds better than 70, it always has.

“It always feels good to birdie the last hole. Leading as opposed to being tied for the lead, that makes no difference whatsoever to me.”

He aggravated a rib problem late in Thursday’s round and had upper back spasms. Calcavecchia said it began flaring up again after swinging starting on No. 14 Friday.

Kenny Perry and Olin Browne were 4 under. Perry had a 68, and Browne shot 71. Browne was part of the first-round logjam along with Chien Soon Lu, who shot a 77.

Haas birdied the first four holes, and Calcavecchia had three birdies on the first six holes.

“I didn’t put myself into a lot of bad positions,” Haas said. “Being 4 under after four was kind of a dream start and it kind of slowly got away from me. But I like my position. I feel pretty good about my situation going into the weekend.”

He bogeyed No. 5 after landing in the bunker and then three-putted No. 15 for another bogey. Haas followed that with a 35-footer for birdie on No. 16.

Calcavecchia also had a bogey on the 15th hole after having a bad lie about 10 yards right of the green. He chipped it some 15 feet past the hole.

Calcavecchia said he started his round knowing Haas had gotten off to a good start and that Tom Pernice Jr. – who finished with a 70 and was four strokes back – had also opened with four straight birdies. Beyond that, he said he’s not a scoreboard watcher.

“There’s no point in really looking at this stage,” Calcavecchia said. “You’re just trying to play the course and make as many birdies as possible and pars. Still a long way to go. If it was a three-rounder like most of our regular tournaments, it would be a little different story maybe. But we’re only halfway done.”

Haas takes a different approach.

“I look at scoreboards all the time,” he said. “I like seeing my name up there and seeing what’s going on and all that. It’s such a long race and there’s so much golf left to be played that I’m not too concerned about one shot here and there. You hate to throw any shots away obviously, but I’m still feeling pretty good about where I am.”

Perry had three birdies on the final nine holes and was already looking forward to Round 3.

“Saturday’s the rocking chair day as I call it, and I’ve got to make my move on that day,” said Perry, who also had two bogeys. “I need to shoot another one of these or a little better to get back into it for Sunday.”

Canada’s Rod Spittle is tied for 36th after a second round 75. He’s 3-over par thru two rounds and nine off the pace.

The other Canadian in the field, Jim Rutledge, is tied for 56th at 6-over par.

Defending champion David Frost was five strokes back and two-time winner Tom Lehman was six away from the lead. Both had 71s.

Fred Couples was 7 over after a 77.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Champions Tour players put on long-sleeved pullovers and tried to figure out which way the wind was swirling from hole to hole. They left Shoal Creek with little separation at the top.

Jay Haas, Mark Calcavecchia, Olin Browne and Chien Soon Lu shared the first-round lead at 3-under 69 on Thursday in the Regions Tradition, the first of the 50-and-over tour’s five majors. Nine others were within two strokes of the lead.

With windy, unseasonably cool conditions, it was the highest score for first-round leaders at the Tradition since three players tied at 3-under in 1990 at Desert Mountain Club in Arizona. The course absorbed more than an inch of rain heading into Thursday and the players were allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls.

The Tradition hasn’t been so tightly bunched in the top spot after the first round since a seven-way tie in 2008 and the average score was about two strokes higher than last year’s first round.

“The winds were very tricky,” the 60-year-old Haas said. “I kind of had a handle on it, I thought, on the front nine. And then by the time we got to about 13, 14, 15, I had no idea which way the wind was blowing.

“With all the trees and the valley and everything, you get a lot of swirling winds and you just have to be extra careful and think it out and then hit the shot that you’re planning to hit, which I did most of the time.”

Calcavecchia birdied three of the final nine holes and came within a whisker of a fourth and the solo lead on No. 18.

“When it was about 10 feet short, I didn’t think it could miss,” he said. “It was just dead center the whole way and the last couple of feet, it was still in the middle of the hole and it just dribbled just a shade to the right and singed the right lip.

“That would have been nice to walk that one in to end the day. Those are the ones that make the rest of the day go by a little bit better, dinner taste a little better.”

Haas capped a run of three straight birdies with a 50-foot putt on the 12th hole to move to 5 under. He finished with six birdies and had bogeys on three holes, including two of the next four after the long putt.

The sun actually shone much of the day but the wind and wet course did make for some challenges.

“There was no roll in the fairways,” Calcavecchia said. “We had to play lift and place. The ball was just caked with mud every time you picked it up in the fairway. The wind was very tricky.”

Lu did manage to birdie the final hole and two of the last three to grab a share of the lead

The native of Taiwan has two second-places in the Tradition, 2010 in Oregon and 2012 at Shoal Creek.

Calcavecchia’s history at the scenic course has been up and down, though he says it’s his favorite stop on the Champions Tour.

He lost a six-shot lead in 2011, including a pair of weekend double bogeys on No. 12. This time he avoided a bogey on his most troublesome hole but tweaked a rib on a shot from the fairway bunker.

“The 12th hole is not my favorite out here, I’ll tell you that right now,” Calcavecchia said.

Browne’s only win on the 50-and-over circuit came in the 2011 U.S. Senior Open Championship. He missed five months of last season with a stress fracture in his back, playing only 14 events.

Browne, who tied for second at the ACE Group Classic in February, had a bogey-free round with his final birdie on No. 17.

“It was blustery and it was difficult to gauge, but my caddie and I did a decent job,” Browne said.

Steve Elkington, Willie Wood and Corey Pavin were one stroke off the lead at 70 and six players were two shots back.

Canada’s Rod Spittle carded an even-par 72 Thursday. He was tied for 14th with nine players including Tom Watson, Colin Montgomerie and David Frost, among others.

Jim Rutledge shot 76 Thursday.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Bernhard Langer won the Champions Tour’s Insperity Invitational for the third time, closing with a 1-under 71 on Sunday for a one-stroke victory over Fred Couples.

Langer finished at 11-under 205 at The Woodlands to become the 10th 20-time winner on the 50-and-over tour.

The 56-year-old German player also won the 2007 event at Augusta Pines and successfully defended his title in 2008 at The Woodlands. He opened this season with a victory in Hawaii.

“I’m hoping to add to that number,” Langer said. “I hope I’m not done yet. I’m very blessed to have won 20 times in 6 1/2 years. It’s been a great run and a wonderful achievement. I just feel like I’m playing some of my best golf in my career.”

Couples, the former University of Houston player who won the 2010 event, finished with a 67. He won in March in Newport Beach, California.

“On a golf course as hard as this, you can’t really play relaxed golf,” Couples said. “You have to pay attention to what you’re doing. I didn’t hit enough good shots to shoot a lot lower to catch Bernhard, although I got close to him.”

Colin Montgomerie was third at 9 under after a 70. His best finish on the tour is second in March in Newport Beach. The Scot had no complaints about his finish.

“If you’re second, third to Couples and Langer, you’re doing OK,” Montgomerie said.

Esteban Toledo, the winner last year, was 7 under after a 71. Jay Haas and Tom Pernice Jr. tied for fifth at 6 under. Haas shot his third straight 70, and Pernice had a 71.

Rod Spittle (71-70-71) finished at 4-under par 212, good enough for a tie for 9th. The St. Catharines, Ont. native tied with Fred Funk, Jeff Maggert, Tom Byrum and Bart Bryant.

Victoria, B.C.’s Jim Rutledge was the other Canadian in the field. He tied for 35th at 4-over 220.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -Bernhard Langer shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday to open a three-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s Insperity Invitational.

Langer had a 10-under 134 total at The Woodlands Country Club.

The 56-year-old German player won the 2007 event at Augusta Pines and successfully defended his title in 2008 at The Woodlands. He won the season-opening event in Hawaii for his 19th Champions Tour title.

“Every win is a thrill and it’s exciting,” Langer said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever won any other tournament three times. That would be a first and it would be a lot of fun.”

Colin Montgomerie was second after a 66, the best round of the day. He eagled the par-5 13th.

In his second year on the tour, Montgomerie’s best finish is a second in March in Newport Beach, California.

Montgomerie is hoping to get the upper hand over “good friend” Langer when they’re grouped together Sunday.

“I’ve been trying all bloody year to do it and I’ve not done it yet,” he said. “Not many people have, to be honest. But he’s playing some superb golf and it’s nice to have an opportunity anyway tomorrow to give it another go and see if I can win out here.”

Montgomerie played in college at Houston Baptist.

Defending champion Esteban Toledo, Gary Hallberg and Bart Bryant were four strokes back. Hallberg had a 67, Toledo shot 71, and Bryant – tied for the first-round lead with Langer – had a 72.

Fred Couples, the 2010 winner, was tied for sixth at 5 under after a 70. The former University of Houston player won the Newport Beach event.

Rod Spittle climbed eight spots up the leaderboard Saturday after a 2-under 70. The St. Catharines, Ont. native is sitting at 3-under 141 and tied for 12th with four others including Bob Tway and Jeff Maggart.

Jim Rutledge of Victoria, B.C. (77) was 5-over on the day. He dropped 20 spots into a tie for 52nd at 5-over 149.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Bernhard Langer birdied the final six holes for a share of the lead with Bart Bryant on Friday in the Champions Tour’s Insperity Invitational.

Langer matched Bryant at 6-under 66 at The Woodlands Country Club. Langer won the 2007 event at Augusta Pines and successfully defended his title in 2008 at The Woodlands. The 56-year-old German player won the season-opening event in Hawaii for his 19th Champions Tour title and has 20 straight under-par rounds.

Bryant won the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open last year for his lone victory on the 50-and-over tour.

Defending champion Esteban Toledo was a stroke back. Last year, he became the first Mexican winner in Champions Tour history, beating Mike Goodes with a par on the third hole of a playoff.

Woodlands resident Jeff Maggert, Fred Funk and Joe Daley shot 68. Maggert won in Mississippi in March in his first start on the 50-and-over tour. Fred Funk won the 2012 event and the 1992 Houston Open on the course.

Fred Couples, the 2010 winner and a former University of Houston player, had a 69. He won in March in Newport Beach, Calif.

Two Canadians are in the field this week in Texas. Rod Spittle opened with a 1-under 71 and is tied for 20th. Jim Rutledge was a shot back of his Canadian counterpart after an even par 70. He’s tied for 30th.

DULUTH, Ga. – Miguel Angel Jimenez quickly shifted his focus back to the Ryder Cup after winning his first Champions Tour event.

Jimenez held off Bernhard Langer to win the Greater Gwinnett Championship on Sunday, becoming only the third player to lead from start to finish in his debut on the 50-and-over tour.

Jimenez, coming off a fourth-place finish in the Masters, closed with a 67 to finish two strokes ahead of Langer. Jimenez finished the tournament with 32 consecutive holes without a bogey at TPC Sugarloaf.

The Spaniard said he can’t make a commitment to the Champions Tour this year because his goal is making the European Ryder Cup team.

“To me it’s not about money,” Jimenez said. “It’s about some different goals to make me feel proud of myself. To me I would feel nice to play on the Ryder Cup once more.”

Langer, the defending champion, shot his third-straight 68. Jimenez and Langer were tied at 10 under before a two-shot swing on No. 8. Jimenez needed only a short putt for a birdie, and Langer fell two strokes behind with his bogey.

After that, Jimenez avoided mistakes down the stretch, leaving no opening for Langer or Jay Haas, who shot 67 and was third, four shots off the lead.

Jimenez insisted the win wasn’t easy.

“When you hit the ball straight and you put the ball close to the hole it looks easy, but nothing is easy,” he said. “You need to keep calm yourself. … I like to feel the pressure and … the people that are coming behind bite me.”

Langer said his inability to make birdie putts kept him from putting pressure on Jimenez.

“I had a number of opportunities, just couldn’t make any putts today,” Langer said. “And he played very, very solid all day.”

Jimenez stretched his lead to three strokes before he showed that on this day even his mistakes brought no harm. He hit his tee shot on No. 15 into a tree – but it bounced back into the fairway. From there, he hit his next shot into a bunker but still salvaged par.

The win assured, Jimenez tipped his visor to the fans as he walked up the 18th fairway. He then winked and blew a kiss to a TV camera.

He brought his victory cigar to his postgame press conference.

“I showed my game is in very good shape now,” said Jimenez, who added he isn’t complaining about life at 50.

“I’m very happy with my age and the way I’m doing,” he said. “The last 15 years is when my best golf is coming. It’s nice. No complaint with 50.”

Langer said he doesn’t expect to see Jimenez on the Champions Tour again this year.

“He said he wasn’t going to play anymore this year because he wants … to be the oldest European player to ever play on the Ryder Cup,” Langer said. “That’s his goal. But, you know, goals can sometimes change. Who knows, maybe he makes the Ryder Cup team by July and he’ll decide to come out for a couple of weeks.”

Fred Couples, in the final group with Jimenez and Langer, shot 70 and was fourth. Langer tied for eighth and Couples tied for 20th in the Masters. Jimenez said coming out on top of the high-profile group made the win even nicer.

“Of course it’s satisfaction,” Jimenez said. “The better quality the field, the more satisfied you are with the victory. All three were playing very well in the Masters. We all were in contention. That’s nice.”

Steve Pate, Duffy Waldorf and David Frost tied for fifth. Willie Wood shot 66 and was in a group tied for eighth.

Jimenez became the second straight player to win in his debut on the Champions Tour, following Jeff Maggert in last month’s Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic.

Rod Funseth (1983 Hall of Fame Tournament) and Bruce Fleisher (1999 Royal Caribbean Classic) are the only other players to lead from start to finish in their first Champions Tour events.

Canada’s Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge finished as part of a group that tied for 29th at 1-under 215.

DULUTH, Ga. – Miguel Angel Jimenez, extending his impressive Champions Tour debut, shot 2-under 70 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over defending champion Bernhard Langer into the final round of the Greater Gwinnett Championship.

Jimenez and Langer were tied at 8 under entering the final hole. Jimenez reclaimed sole possession of the lead with a birdie. Langer missed putts for eagle and birdie before settling for par and his second straight 68.

Fred Couples, who shot 68, is in third place, two shots behind Jimenez.

Jimenez began the day with a three-stroke lead after his tournament-record 65 on Friday. He began his second round with a birdie, but he gave back three strokes on the next three holes.

Canada’s Rob Spittle dropped four spots into a tied for 11th heading into Sunday’s final round.

The St. Catharines, Ont. native carded a 1-under 71 Saturday. He’s 3-under for the tourney, six back of the lead.

Victoria, B.C.’s Jim Rutledge is 4-over and tied for 51st.

DULUTH, Ga. – Miguel Angel Jimenez’s first round on the Champions Tour went quite well.

After one eagle, five birdies and a tournament record, Jimenez proclaimed “I love it!” and then departed in search of a couple of his usual staples.

So far, life is good for the Spaniard on the 50-and-over tour.

Avoiding a post-Masters letdown, Jimenez shot a 65 on Friday to lead the cold, soggy Greater Gwinnett Championship by three strokes.

“Very good start,” Jimenez said.

“Now it’s time for a nice, warm shower, a nice fat cigar and a glass of Rioja. … I’m desperate to find one of my cigars and have a glass of wine.”

Jimenez, coming off a fourth-place finish in the Masters, was 6 under on his first nine holes, including an eagle on No. 18. He added another birdie on No. 2 and closed with seven straight pars at TPC Sugarloaf.

Bernhard Langer set the previous tournament record with a 66 while winning the 2013 inaugural championship.

Langer, Steve Pate and Kenny Perry are three strokes behind Jimenez.

Perry said he thought Jimenez might have a letdown after his strong finish in Augusta.

“It’s funny, you go from the PGA to the Champions, it’s so much more laid back and relaxed over here,” Perry said. “The atmosphere is different. I actually didn’t know what he’d do today. Honestly, I didn’t think he would shoot 65. I thought he’d be more the other way, after a fourth-place finish, it’d be a letdown this week.

“He’s amazing. He’s fun to watch. He’s a great player.”

The 65 came six days after Jimenez shot the low round of the Masters, a third-round 66.

Jimenez is focused on making the European Ryder Cup team and may have limited time on the Champions Tour this year. Perry, the 2013 player of the year, said Jimenez will be good for the tour.

“Yeah, we need guys like that out here,” Perry said. “I mean, he’s a huge fan favorite. He brings a lot of flair and class to golf and he just has a good time.”

Jimenez tried to sneak through the interview room as Perry was talking with reporters. Perry stopped to call out to Jimenez “Hope to see you tomorrow. Don’t beat us too bad, OK?”

After Jimenez mentioned wine and cigars in his reply, Perry laughed and said “That guy has too much fun.”

Asked if Jimenez might spark a Champions Tour trend with his well-known passions, Perry said: “If it works. If it’s not broke, don’t change it.”

Fred Couples shot a 69, including a double bogey on No. 9, his finishing hole. Jeff Sluman also shot a 69.

Though light rain began soon after the round began and became more intense in the afternoon, there was no delay.

“It was as cold and ugly as you can get,” Langer said. “It never stopped raining on us for two minutes.”

Jimenez said the weather was just a nuisance.

“It’s not easy because all day is wet,” Jimenez said. “Not hard rain but these little things coming and coming, sometimes quicker.”

Pate called his 68 “kind of unexpected” and a product of “smoke and mirrors.” He said he struggled more with the temperatures, which dropped to about 50 by the end of his round, than with the rain.

“At a certain point I just got cold and it was hard to move,” Pate said. “We’re old. We don’t like cold weather.

“This is really not my wheelhouse. I like it when it’s about 95 degrees and I’m sweating.”

Colin Montgomerie was part of a group of four at 70, which included Canada’s Rod Spittle.