Round 1 Notes: U.S. Senior Open Championship

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• Fred Funk, making his first appearance on the Champions Tour since the FedEx Kinko's Classic in early May, carded a 5-under 65 today, his best opening round on the Champions Tour in 2008. He's a first-round leader for the third time in his brief career on the Champions Tour. On two previous occasions, Funk posted 65 in the opening round both times and went on to win. After the first round of the 2006 AT&T Championship, Funk led by one stroke over R.W. Eaks, Dan Pohl and Scott Simpson. At the end of the first round of the 2007 Turtle Bay Championship, Funk led by two strokes over five different players.

• In the first 19 official events on the Champions Tour this year, only seven first-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win. Bruce Vaughan, last week's winner at the Senior British Open was the last to do so.

• International players have captured the U.S. Senior Open a total of five times in championship history. However, Australia's Graham Marsh was the last to do so in 1997 at Olympia Fields Country Club near Chicago. After the opening round of this year's U.S. Senior Open, three international players are among the top seven on the leaderboard. Eduardo Romero of Argentina, and Spain's Juan Quiros are both T3 after shooting 3-under 67s today while Zimbabwe's Mark McNulty carded a 68 (T7).

• Eduardo Romero's 3-under-par 67 today gives him 13 of his last 14 rounds at par/better. During this stretch that started at The Principal Charity Classic in Iowa, Romero has 12 sub-par scores. He won the Dick's Sporting Goods Open in western New York in early July and then finished third last week at the Senior British Open at Royal Troon in Scotland. Last year at the U.S. Senior Open at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, Romero was the 1st-round leader with 6-under 66.

• Defending champion Brad Bryant posted an even-par score of 70 today, his fifth consecutive round of par/better in the U.S. Senior Open. Bryant is bidding to join Allen Doyle (2005-06), Gary Player (1987-88), and Miller Barber (1984-85) as only the fourth player to win consecutive U.S. Senior Open titles.

• The first-round scoring average at Oak Hill Country Club for this year's Senior PGA Championship was 76.858 (+6.858), the highest for an opening round on the Champions Tour this year. The first-round scoring average last week at Royal Troon for the Senior British Open Championship was 76.563 (+5.563), the second highest for a first round in 2008.

• Gary Hallberg's 1-under 69 (T10) was the best score among the nine players in this year's U.S. Senior Open field with Colorado ties. Hallberg, a resident of Castle Rock, Colo., has finished 11th or better in his last four Champions Tour starts.

• Morris Hatalsky's 3-under 67 matched his lowest score ever in a U.S. Senior Open (two previous times) and was his best starting round. In six previous appearances in the event, Hatalsky's best score in the opening round was 69 in 2005 at NCR Country Club near Dayton, Ohio.

• Dale Douglass, the 1986 U.S. Senior Open champion, made his 23rd consecutive appearance in this event and carded a 12-over 82. Douglass ranks second to Arnold Palmer in most appearances in the U.S. Senior Open. Palmer played in 25 consecutive championships with his last appearance coming in 2005.