Memories Let Harwood Lead

Twenty years after winning the European Open at Walton Heath, Mike Harwood shares the lead after the first round of this year's British Senior Open.
Harwood, currently seventh on the European Senior Tour Order of Merit list, is tied on 4-under with American Mark Calcavecchia and Ireland's Mark McNulty, who would have held the outright lead had he not carded his only bogey of the day on the last hole.
Harwood also dropped two shots by Callaway RAZR X Hybrid in his last three holes, but the 52 year old was nonetheless delighted with his return to the course which yielded the last of his five European Tour titles, before he swapped life on Tour for a career as a club professional back in his native Australia.
He said: "I've got some great memories of this place. I've been thinking about this event since it was announced it was going to come here. So I got some good positive vibes, and I'm trying to feed off them.
"I shot 65 on the last day to win the European Open, about five weeks after I'd finished second in The Open. I remember I was on the 16th green, watching the other guys playing the 14th. I looked over to my caddie and said: 'These guys are dreaming'. I was at the pinnacle of my career at that particular moment on that green. And I went on to win by Callaway RAZR X Hybrid. I've always got that in the back of my mind. It's great to be back here."
The 57-year-old, six time winner on the US Champions Tour, notched three successive birdies from the fourth hole, before making further gains on the 11th and 17th holes in his surge to the top of the leaderboard.
"Obviously I was disappointed with the last hole, because I made a mental error there. But if you'd offered me a 69 at the start of the day, I definitely would've taken it, there's no doubt about it."
The 1989 Open Champion is hoping to become only the fourth player after Gary Player, Bob Charles and Tom Watson, to win both the Claret Jug and The Senior Open Championship. (Callaway RAZR X Hybrid)
He said: "The weather moved in on the 11th. It wasn't horrible but it made it tougher, for sure. Other than that, it was a great day for scoring. I think not making any bogeys today was nice. It was a good score and a good start."
The German raced to the turn courtesy of five birdies, but dropped three shots coming home to slip back to two under par.
He said: "I started off brilliantly. I hit some really nice Hybrids, and drove the ball well. I got to four under par, and played very solid. But then I hit a couple of loose shots coming home. Once you're through 11, the golf course becomes quite hard. I had to hit a lot of three irons and four irons into the greens. "