Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions Championship

ATLANTA, Ga. -- Defending champion Mike Hill and Bruce Summerhays fired 7-under-par 65s on Thursday to share the first-round lead in the Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions Championship at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in suburban Atlanta.  
 
The Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions Championship features Champions Tour players age 60 and over competing in a 36-hole, stroke-play event for a $400,000 purse, with $85,000 going to the winner. Hill won the championship last year at Sonoma Golf Club in Sonoma, Calif.

Hill made seven birdies and no bogeys, while Summerhays had nine birdies and a double bogey over the 6,826-yard, par-72 Hawks Ridge layout. Summerhays entered the event third on the Grand Champions money list, while Hill was ninth.

After the round, the 66-year-old Hill attributed his score to a hot putter. "I've never putted so well," said Hill. "I made all my 4-footers. It was just a great round of golf."

Summerhays, 61, also praised his putter for his great round. "The conditions were perfect out there today," he said "I hit it close on several holes, and the greens are so pure. I made all the putts I needed to make."

Raymond Floyd and John Jacobs, who won his first Grand Champions event last week at the Constellation Energy Classic in suburban Baltimore, are tied for third place after first-round, 5-under-par 67s. Three golfers -- Mike McCullough, Graham Marsh, and Gibby Gilbert - are tied for fifth after opening-round 68s.

This marks the first time the Championship is being played as a stand-alone event. In the past, the Grand Champions finale has been held in conjunction with the Champions Tour's season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

Complete first-round scores are as follows:

T1. Mike Hill, 65 (-7)
T1. Bruce Summerhays, 65 (-7)
T3. Raymond Floyd, 67 (-5)
T3. John Jacobs, 67 (-5)
T5. Gibby Gilbert, 68 (-4)
T5. Graham Marsh, 68 (-4)
T5. Mike McCullough, 68 (-4)
T8. Jay Sigel, 69 (-3)
T8. Jim Albus, 69 (-3)
10. Dave Stockton, 70 (-2)
T11. Jim Colbert, 71 (-1)
T11. J.C. Snead, 71 (-1)
T13. Bob Charles, 72 (E)
T13. Jim Dent, 72 (E)
T13. Dale Douglass, 72 (E)
T13. Hale Irwin, 72 (E)
T17. Tom Wargo, 73 (1)
T17. Al Geiberger, 76 (4)