Stewart Cink and Charlie Wi shot 3-under 67 to share the first-round lead at the US Senior Open Championship on Thursday at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. For Cink, the round keeps alive his bid to win a third consecutive senior major, a feat not accomplished within the same year since Jack Nicklaus in 1991. 

Cink went out in 2-over 37 before turning his round with five birdies on the back nine, the only player to manage that in the opening round. He tied Wi with a birdie at the par-4 18th after his approach from a left fairway bunker landed within two feet of the hole.

“I’ve been off for a little while, and I started like I’ve been off for a little while. I had to prove it to myself again that I could play decent golf a certain way,” Cink said. “The back nine was really nice. I actually could have shot quite a bit lower on the back nine. I missed three very reasonably like inside, right around 10 feet or less birdie putts.”

Wi’s birdie streak

Wi sat at even par through 11 holes before he strung together five birdies in a row from Nos. 3 through 7, matching the second-longest birdie streak in the US Senior Open’s 46-year history. A double bogey at the par-4 eighth, where his approach found the water, ended the run but did not derail his round.

The 54-year-old South Korean has nine worldwide professional victories but has never won on the PGA Tour or PGA Tour Champions. A victory this week would be his first in 82 Champions starts.

“I hit the ball pretty solid today, made a couple of putts. It was a hot day. I just made sure that I stayed in the ballgame, meaning like mentally, because you could easily lose it out there,” Wi said.

Harrington one back

Simon Griffiths, Freddie Jacobson and George McNeill are tied for third at 2-under 68. Griffiths made an ace on No. 17, the 25th in tournament history. Defending champion Pádraig Harrington was among 10 players at 1-under 69.

Harrington beat Cink by one stroke to win last year’s title at The Broadmoor. “Of course it’s tough, we know that, so once you get through that, the golf course itself is playing nicely,” Harrington said.

Heat and history at Scioto

Cink played in the seventh afternoon group and faced the day’s worst conditions, with temperatures reaching 95 degrees and a heat index of 103 according to the National Weather Service. The Donald Ross layout played at par 70.

“The heat is a factor for sure. It affects your focus and your energy level. Sometimes even the simplest shots just kind of, it’s easy to fall asleep at the wheel when the conditions are like that,” Cink said.

The 53-year-old entered the week as the Charles Schwab Cup leader with four wins in nine starts this season, including the Senior PGA Championship and the Regions Tradition. Scioto, hosting its third US Senior Open, is the course where Nicklaus learned the game.

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