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The newbies often are still competitive on the PGA Tour. They鈥檙e usually in prime playing shape. And it鈥檚 just exciting when a Steve Stricker (12-time winner on the PGA Tour) or a Retief Goosen (two-time U.S. Open champ) join the senior circuit.

But many of the veterans on the Champions Tour can still play. Patrons at Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort were reminded of that fact during the first round of the Cologuard Classic on Friday.

Five of the six players who are tied for second or better entering Saturday鈥檚 Round 2 are 55 or older. They include first-round leader Kenny Perry, 58, who shot an 8-under 65; and Mark O鈥橫eara, 62, who鈥檚 one of five golfers tied at 7-under 66.

O鈥橫eara caught a hot streak on the front nine Friday, birdieing eight consecutive holes, Nos. 2-9. He became the fifth Champions Tour player to make eight straight birdies in a round and the first since Joe Ozaki in 2006.

When informed of O鈥橫eara鈥檚 feat, Stricker 鈥� the defending champion and the lone player in the top six who鈥檚 under 55 鈥� asked the natural follow-up question: How old is he?

Upon learning that O鈥橫eara is 62, Stricker could only marvel at the two-time major winner鈥檚 accomplishment.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 incredible,鈥� Stricker said after completing his 7-under 66. 鈥淚t shows you the type of players that are still out here and capable of playing well any given day. It鈥檚 cool to see.鈥�

O鈥橫eara used that same descriptor 鈥� 鈥渃ool鈥� 鈥� upon being told he had tied the Champions Tour record for consecutive birdies. But if it was possible to be less than satisfied with a 66, well, that was O鈥橫eara on Friday.

鈥淎nytime you shoot 7 under, I guess you can鈥檛 be too disappointed,鈥� O鈥橫eara said. 鈥淏ut certainly when you鈥檙e 8 under after nine holes, you would like to do a little better.鈥�

After making all those birdies, O鈥橫eara had chances on the back nine. None of them fell, giving him eight straight pars heading to the tee box on No. 18.

O鈥橫eara pulled his drive, a no-no on the finishing hole at Omni 蜜柚直播 National. The ball rolled into the left water hazard, forcing O鈥橫eara to scramble to try to make par.

O鈥橫eara hit an excellent recovery shot, a 4-iron about 15 feet below the hole. He thought his par putt was going to drop, but it stopped about two inches short of the cup. The bogey at 18 was the lone blemish on his scorecard.

O鈥橫eara has only two career victories on the Champions Tour, both coming in 2010. He has had only one top-three finish since 2015, and he hasn鈥檛 played particularly well in this event. His best finish in the previous three tournaments: a tie for 54th.

So how did O鈥橫eara prepare for the 2019 Cologuard Classic?

鈥淢y preparation for this week was riding my snowmobile on Saturday in Park City,鈥� he said with a smile. 鈥淚 rode my sled on Monday up in the backcountry, and I never hit a ball last week.鈥�

O鈥橫eara said he often plays better when he goes snowmobiling or fly fishing before a tournament, as opposed to grinding away on the range. After his round Friday, it鈥檚 hard to argue with that strategy.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of neat 鈥� at 62 and still competing,鈥� said O鈥橫eara, the second-oldest player in the field behind Tom Kite, who鈥檚 69. 鈥淭o make eight birdies in a row, any day you do that that鈥檚 a good day.鈥�

Perry put together a streak of his own. Perry, who started on the 10th hole, birdied Nos. 11-13. On the par-5 17th, Perry rolled in a 20-foot putt from just off the green for eagle.

Perry made six birdies in all and no bogeys 鈥� a sign that he has fully recovered from the shoulder surgery that shelved him for the early part of 2018.

Perry underwent the procedure in late 2017 and didn鈥檛 make his 鈥�18 Champions Tour debut until late April. He didn鈥檛 hit a ball for about six months. When he first started practicing again, the results weren鈥檛 great.

鈥淥h my word. It was horrible,鈥� said Perry, who has 10 career wins on the Champions Tour. 鈥淚 (normally) hit a hook. I was hitting a 40-yard slice. It was the craziest thing I鈥檝e ever seen.

鈥淚t was a challenge. I thought, 鈥榃ell, this is it. I鈥檓 done. I鈥檓 going to retire.鈥欌��

Perry missed competing, though, and he worked with instructor Matt Killen to regain his form. It took about two months for Perry to start feeling like himself again.

He won the 3M Championship and qualified for the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs despite missing a good chunk of the season.

Perry has played in four PGA Tour events this year without making a cut. But 鈥渋t鈥檚 all good,鈥� he said. 鈥淗eck, 58 years old, let鈥檚 be realistic about this deal. It was a good day today.鈥�

Stricker described his round as 鈥渟olid.鈥� He birdied all five par-5s and didn鈥檛 make a bogey. He had about an 18-foot putt for birdie on the par-4 18th but hit it a little too hard, settling for par and a tie for second. Stricker wasn鈥檛 unhappy with that outcome on a hole that has vexed him and countless others.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a hard tee ball, and you鈥檝e got to get it in the fairway,鈥� Stricker said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 care if I鈥檓 hitting 3-iron into the green, just get it in the fairway and get it up (there). You try and make a four there and move on. I was able to do that today.鈥�

Chip shots

• The other players who shot 66 Friday were 蜜柚直播 product Willie Wood, Jeff Maggert and Miguel Angel Jimenez.
• Former 蜜柚直播 Wildcat David Berganio Jr. shot a 2-under 71 in his Champions Tour debut. He鈥檚 tied for 23rd. Another ex-UA star, Robert Gamez, shot an even-par 73. He鈥檚 tied for 46th.
• MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz, playing on a sponsor exemption, also shot an even-par round. 鈥淚鈥檝e learned to manage the game,鈥� Smoltz said. 鈥淚 putted extremely well. I put myself in situations to get defensive, and once you get defensive, it鈥檚 just not a fun game to play. I鈥檓 getting closer and closer to feeling comfortable, and closer to trusting my swing.鈥�
• The 18th hole wasn鈥檛 as tough as usual Friday, playing to a 4.115 average. It was the hardest closing hole on the Champions Tour last year at 4.452 and the sixth-most difficult hole overall.