Cameron Percy made eight birdies in an opening 63 to claim a one-shot lead at the ISPS HANDA Senior Open on Thursday at Gleneagles.

The Australian took advantage of calm morning conditions on the King’s Course, making birdie on four consecutive holes from the ninth. His 7-under total left Lionel Alexandre second after a bogey-free 64.

Ernie Els, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Tom Pernice Jr. and Pat Perez share third at 5-under. Els and Jiménez each dropped one shot, while Perez completed a bogey-free round in his first Senior Open appearance since turning 50 in March.

Percy Finds His Range

Percy opened his scoring with birdies at the second and third before his decisive run around the turn. Four straight gains from the ninth moved him quickly through the field, although a bogey at the 13th briefly interrupted his progress.

He recovered immediately at the driveable par-four 14th and made another birdie at the last. Percy did not find the rough during a round built on accurate driving and favourable approach yardages.

“I drove it really good but you have to here,” Percy said. “I didn’t hit in the rough once and so that was really nice.

“Seemed to have really good numbers, and I stopped pretty close to the hole and made a couple of putts. The par fives, I drove on in two and the short par four I drove, and that helped.”

The 52-year-old is seeking his first senior victory after turning 50 in May 2024. He has made the cut in all 81 of his PGA Tour Champions starts and recorded top-10 finishes in each of last season’s senior majors, including the Senior Open at Sunningdale.

Percy had never played at Gleneagles before this week. After finding an improvement over the closing four holes of Wednesday’s practice round, he carried it into competition.

Alexandre Leads the Pursuit

Alexandre made his first birdie at the seventh, then collected further gains at the ninth, tenth, 12th, 14th and 18th. The Frenchman described the occasion as a regular tour event despite the stronger field assembled for the season’s final senior major.

Pernice produced the most eventful round among the players on 65. He turned in 1-over 35 after a double bogey at the sixth, then made four birdies from the tenth before eagling the 14th.

Jerry Kelly, Taggart Ridings, Emanuele Canonica, Johan Edfors and Michael Wright are three shots off the lead at 4-under. Zach Johnson, Boo Weekley and David Howell finished another stroke back.

Defending champion Pádraig Harrington opened with an even-par 70 after matching three birdies with three bogeys. He reported no knee trouble during the round after experiencing pain over the previous two weeks.

The par-70 King’s Course measures 6,859 yards and is staging the Senior Open for the second time. Darren Clarke won the championship’s previous visit to Gleneagles in 2022.

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