Birdie barrage gives unknown Glen Day first-round lead at 3M Championship

Glen Day isn't the ball-striker from Arkansas fans came to see Friday in the opening round of the 3M Championship. But what Day lacked in John Daly-sized galleries he made up for on the leaderboard.

Off in the first group from the No. 1 tee, Day tamed the TPC Twin Cities course with a bogey-free 7-under-par 65. It held up on a breezy afternoon for the Round 1 lead of a logjammed tournament in Blaine.

Day, who only got into the 3M after winning Monday's qualifying event at Victory Links with five birdies and an eagle, shot 31 on the back nine. He's one clear of Rod Spittle, Jeff Maggert and Colin Montgomerie.

"When you start making putts, the hole gets bigger," said Day after making birdies on holes 14 through 17, including a 30-footer on No. 15. "Confidence breeds better putting, better putting breeds confidence. It's the chicken-and-egg thing."

Bernhard Langer drained a 20-foot eagle putt on 18 to offset a rare three-putt on the front nine and joined Miguel Angel Jimenez among a group of eight players tied for fifth at 5 under. Seven players are at 4 under par.

Thirty-one players shot rounds in the 60s.

"We know this course isn't one of the most difficult," Montgomerie said. "The fairways are quite generous, and the greens are super. All of the birdies are just as important as every [other]."

Day has entered 12 events this season on the PGA Tour Champions schedule and sits in his best position yet. The 50-year-old falls short of all-time money earnings to be fully exempt but has found his way into the field by sponsor's exemptions and a pair of top-10 finishes this season that earned him further starts.

"I come out here with a little chip on my shoulder," Day said. "I feel like I belong. Sometimes I'm in, sometimes I'm out, but I approach it with a good attitude."

Day flew to the Twin Cities last Saturday, prepared for and played in Monday's qualifier, then fulfilled his pro-am obligation. On Friday he said he felt "rested" after a Thursday breather and showed as much. He's tops in a field that includes a total of 311 PGA Tour victories and 14 players who have a major title.

Day has one PGA Tour victory, but Friday was the first time he'd led an event anywhere after the first round since 1998.

"It was a real solid round, and that's what I'm going to do for the next two days," Day said.

Others have more work to do.

Two-time defending champion Kenny Perry said Thursday he just started hitting golf balls again last week, after taking a month off to spend time with family. Friday he never found a groove. He shot a 1-over 73 — his worst round at TPC Twin Cities by two strokes. He's tied for 58th place with another favorite, Minnesotan Tom Lehman, who led this event after one round a year ago.

Daly treated fans to a monster drive over a pair of humped bunkers to start his day but made bogey the first hole. He hiccupped again on Nos. 5 and 11, then rebounded with a birdie on No. 16 before an eagle at the finishing hole. At even par, he stands seven shots back of his fellow Razorback.