Ben Crane rolled in eight birdies during Friday’s opening round of the Insperity Invitational at The Woodlands Country Club in Texas, setting the pace with a 7-under-par 65. The score gave him a one-stroke lead over Shane Bertsch, Boo Weekley, Australia’s Richard Green, and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee.
A shot further back at 67 sits Steven Alker of New Zealand, Ernie Els of South Africa, Rory Sabbatini of Slovakia, and South Koreans Charlie Wi and Y.E. Yang. Crane, a five-time PGA Tour winner who turned 50 in March, is seeking his first victory on the PGA Tour Champions after finishing runner-up at the Senior PGA Championship last month.
Crane birdied six of his first 10 holes on Friday before cooling off. After a lone bogey on the par-3 14th hole, where he missed the green off the tee, he bounced back with birdies on the next two holes, including a lengthy putt on the par-3 16th.
Bertsch, 56, who won once on the PGA Tour Champions in 2020, is aiming for a return to the winner’s circle. He entered this week’s field as the second alternate. “I’ve been in this position this year, unfortunately, just because I’m not the greatest player last year, so I’ve been hanging around as first alternate a couple weeks,” Bertsch said. “You could have a chance to get in and be out all of a sudden if you’re not around. So it’s kind of nerve-wracking. But it was nice to get in.”
Bertsch started on the back nine, making four birdies and one bogey, then reached the green in two on the par-5 first hole and eagled for a nice boost up the leaderboard. He added one final birdie on the par-5 sixth hole.
Defending champion Stewart Cink, who also won the season’s first two majors, opened with a 4-under 68.
