Jerry Kidney is not acting his age, which is why he finds himself on the leaderboard after the first round of the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open.
The 61-year-old retired firefighter shot a 3-under-par 69 Wednesday at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club to share third place going into the final 36 holes. Defending champion Joe Stansberry of Minneapolis and Thomas Herzan of Findlay, Ohio, each posted 68s for the first-day lead.
“For me I hit the ball real well,” Kidney said. “That’s the best score I’ve ever had at this course.”
Considering he’s competing against many talented professionals, and a lot of players 10 years or more his junior, Kidney admits he was a little surprised at recording one of the best first-round scores at GVR.
The amateur from Littleton broke 70 despite a three-putt bogey on his 18th hole. “I had to screw up something,” he said.
For the day, he hit 16 greens in regulation and carded five birdies. And he did it despite having played little tournament golf this year. Kidney was hampered by a bad back most of the early part of 2009. Asked if his back is 100 percent now, Kidney said, “It feels 100 percent compared to what it was when I couldn’t tie my shoes.”
Kidney is no stranger to performing well in the Colorado Senior Open. He’s played the event every year it’s been held, starting in 1999, and he was the low amateur in 2000, when he placed fifth overall, and he also posted a top-10 finish in 1999.
Only one amateur has won the Senior Open — John Olive in 1999 — but one good round hasn’t left Kidney entertaining thoughts of joining Olive.
“That wasn’t an expectation going in,” he said. “And there’s a lot of real good pros here. I just want to play as well as I can.”
Jim Blair of Ogden, Utah played in the same group as Kidney and matched his score, as did Nebraskan Jeff Klein, a ninth-place finisher in the 2008 U.S. Senior Open. Also shooting 69s were Ed Brooks and Wayne Wright of Fort Worth, Texas, and Ralph West of Avondale, Ariz. Blair won two Colorado Opens during the 1980s. Should he prevail on Friday, he’d become the second player to claim titles in both the Colorado Open and Colorado Senior Open, joining Mike Zaremba. But that apparently was the furthest thing from Blair’s mind on Wednesday.
“I don’t think of that,” he said. “I just go out and have fun. My goal is to make my tee time.”
Stansberry, 53, a former Minnesota state open champion, picked up where he left off last year, when he won the Colorado Senior Open by one stroke over Ron Vlosich. Stansberry racked up seven birdies on Wednesday, but missed four putts of less than 5 feet. He hit his final 17 greens in regulation.
“Any round when you make seven birdies, you should feel pretty good,” he said. “But I have some mixed feelings” because of the missed short putts.
As for Herzan, winner of two Ohio senior opens and two Arizona senior opens, his 68 was bogey-free, as he recorded four birdies on the day.
The headliner of the Senior Open field, Danny Edwards, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, opened with a 74 on Wednesday.
Thursday’s second round gets under way at 7:30 a.m. The top 55 players and ties after 36 holes will advance to Friday’s final round.
