First-round notes: The Senior Open Championship

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BERKSHIRE, England -- Here is where the leaderboard stands after 18 holes:

1. Fred Funk/USA (-6)
T2. Jay Haas/USA (-4)
T2. Loren Roberts/USA (-4)
T2. Des Smyth/IRL (-4)
T2. Christopher Williams/RSA (-4)

• Funk's 6-under 64 is the lowest first-round score in Senior British Open Championship history. Gary Player (1988), Roberts (2006), Craig Stadler (2006) and Peter Jacobsen (2006) all posted 5-under 65s in their opening rounds at this event. Funk has a two-stroke lead after Round 1 for the second time in his last three appearances on the Champions Tour this year and it matches the largest opening-round lead on the circuit in 2009. He holds a first-round lead on the Champions Tour for the fifth time in his career. Here's Funk's career record on the Champions Tour with first-round leads:

• Funk is making his first appearance in the Senior British Open this week. He's aiming to follow Neil Coles (1987), Bobby Verwey (1991), Tom Wargo (1994), Brian Barnes (1995) and Christy O'Connor Jr. (1999), as players winning in their first appearance.

• Tom Watson, looking to shake off a heartbreaking playoff loss to Stewart Cink at last week's British Open Championship at Turnberry, opened with a 3-under 67 today (T6) at the Senior British Open at Sunningdale. Watson is bidding to continue with his winning sequence at this championship, claiming the title in alternate years -- 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. A fourth victory would make him the most prolific winner in the history of the event.

• After missing last year's championship at Royal Troon, both Roberts and Haas got off to good starts at the 2009 Senior British Open here at Sunningdale. Haas' 4-under-par 66 was his best round in this event. He finished T6 in 2006 at Turnberry and T4 in 2007 at Muirfield. Roberts, the 2006 champion at Turnberry, also carded a 4-under 66 today, his lowest 18-hole score in this championship since a 65 on Friday three years ago. In addition to his victory, Roberts was fifth in 2005 at Royal Aberdeen and T4 in 2007 at Muirfield.

• Tom Kite came into this year's Senior British Open Championship with a streak of four consecutive top-10 finishes on the Champions Tour and posted a 3-under 67 (T6) today. Kite has registered four top-10s in six appearances in this championship and his best effort was a T2 in 2004 at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland. Kite won his only title on English soil at The European Open in 1980, staged at nearby Walton Heath.

• Bernhard Langer started his quest for three consecutive victories on the Champions Tour with a 2-over 72 at Sunningdale today, ending his streak of rounds in the 60s at six consecutive. In his last two appearances on the Champions Tour, Langer won the Triton Financial Classic and the 3M Championship, his fourth official victory of the year. The last player to win three straight times was Haas in 2006 (Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, FedEx Kinko's Classic, Senior PGA Championship).

• France's Marc Farry, the winner of the 1996 BMW International Open on the European Tour, debuted on the European Senior Tour today with a 2-over 72. Farry turned 50 on July 3.

• When he teed it up in Thursday's opening round, Sir Bob Charles was competing in his 23rd consecutive Senior Open Championship. A member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, the 73-year-old New Zealander is the only player to compete in all 23 championships and is a two-time champion (1989, 1993) as well as a former British Open winner (1963). Charles carded an even-par 70, breaking his age for the ninth time in his Champions Tour career and 13th time on the European Senior Tour. He also becomes only the second player in the history of the Senior Open to break his age, joining Gary Player.

• First-round leaders/co-leaders have won just three of the first 14 official events on the Champions Tour this year (Langer/Mitsubishi Electric Championship, Langer/Tom Lehman/Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, Langer/Triton Financial Classic). In two of the last three years at the Senior Open, a first-round co-leader has gone on to win (Bruce Vaughan/2008, Roberts/2006).

• Bruce Vaughan, the defending champion this week, opened with an even-par round of 70 at Sunningdale today. Both Barnes (1995-1996) and Christy O'Connor, Jr. (1999-2000) successfully defendied Senior British Open titles.

• Here's how the seven players who won European Open titles at Sunningdale fared after Round 1:

• The most difficult hole for Round 1 was the par-4 No. 2 (4.472). Only three birdies were made at the 2nd today (Guisseppi Cali, Scott Simpson, Sam Torrance). The easiest hole for the first round was the par-5 No. 1 (4.410), yielding five eagles and 83 birdies.

• This and That: Funk and Kite had the only bogey-free rounds today,...Woosnam, Lehman and Eduardo Romero hit every fairway...Jerry Bruner, Gary Koch and Curt Byrum hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation...Spain's Pinero needed only 22 putts...There were 13 eagles made today, including two on par-4 holes (Larry Mize, No. 9; Gary Koch, No. 18).

• There were 29 rounds under par today by the 144-man field at Sunningdale. Last year at Royal Troon, only 12 players posted rounds under par on Thursday.

• Bob Gilder made his 136th consecutive appearance in events he's been eligible for on the Champions Tour. Gilder shot 2-over 72 today.