Bland Grabs Lead

South African John Bland eagled the ninth hole, sparking his run to a 5-under-par 67 and a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the 58th PGA Seniors’ Championship at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Bland holed out a 165-yard 9-iron approach from the right rough at the par-4 ninth on the 6,722-yard Champion course at PGA National Golf Club.

Defending champion Hale Irwin and Gibby Gilbert were at 69. Irwin opened last year with a 66.

Isao Aoki, runner-up by two strokes to Irwin in 1996, birdied the last two holes to join three-time champion Gary Player, Dale Douglass, John Schroeder and Gil Morgan at 70.

Nick Price put together a Tiger Woods-style run of five straight birdies and took a one-shot lead with a 65 in the MCI Classic at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Price was four behind Brad Faxon, Tom Lehman and Rick Fehr through 13 holes. But then he got it going like the Masters winner, with on-target irons and putts of 20 feet or less.

It took a career day to get Nanci Bowen atop the leaderboard in the opening round of the inaugural Susan G. Komen International at Murrells Inlet, S.C.

Bowen shot a career-best 7-under-par 65 in taking a one-stroke lead over Lisa Kiggens and Nancy Harvey, who both shot a career-best 66.

Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum, Idaho, shot a 78.