BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Tom Pernice Jr. closed with a double bogey for a 6-under 66 and a share of the first-round lead Friday in the Allianz Championship with Paul Goydos and Bart Bryant.
Pernice, second behind Rocco Mediate two years ago at Broken Sound, hooked his drive into the water on the difficult par-4 ninth in the Champions Tour event. After a drop, he hit a 3-wood short of the green and missed a 9-foot putt.
"It's one of those things where you have to step up and hit a shot, and I wasn't able to pull it off," said Pernice, a two-time winner last year on the Champions Tour. "Not much you can do about it."
Bryant, playing alongside Pernice, had four birdies and an eagle. Goydos, a winner last year in his first season on the 50-and-over tour, had seven birdies and a bogey and saved par a half-dozen times.
"I probably turned a 69 or a 70 into a 66," Goydos said. "That's what I have to do to be successful out here.
Bernhard Langer was a stroke back along with Fred Funk and Tom Byrum. Langer, the reigning player of the year, won the 2010 event and has three other top-three finishes at Broken Sound in the last six years.
Defending champion Michael Allen had a 70, 10 shots higher than his opening round last year.
Nolan Henke had a 77 in his Champions Tour debut. The three-time PGA Tour winner turned 50 in November.
