Dicky Pride birdied his final three holes to shoot a 9-under-par 63 and secure the lead at the Dick’s Open on Friday in Endicott, N.Y.
Pride, whose only win on the PGA Tour Champions came in 2021, built a two-shot edge over Tommy Gainey, Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke.
Pride turned in a stellar card of nine birdies and nine pars at En-Joie Golf Course. He was 5 under through eight holes before his closing surge, which included birdies at the par-3 14th and 17th holes along with the par-4 16th and 18th.
“Well, I made a lot of putts. You have to,” Pride said. “I hit the ball pretty straight. Not quite as crisp as I wanted on occasion, but I made a lot of putts. That’s been the formula at En-Joie for a long time.”
Pride found 15 of 18 greens in regulation, and on the three greens he missed, he scrambled for par despite citing some tough lies.
“You don’t want to miss it in the rough because you can have some difficult lies, and I did today,” he said. “I’d like to hit it a little better, but I’m real happy with the way I played.”
Clarke had a bogey-free round of 65, while Harrington matched Pride’s nine birdies but bogeyed Nos. 1 and 11.
“Today got off to a bad start, made a terrible bogey. Then I made a few birdies, started getting into it,” Harrington said. “I think Darren played very well, started making birdies, and I was kind of trying to keep up, follow suit. There was good momentum in the group in that sense.”
Michael Block also made a splash in his PGA Tour Champions debut.
The PGA teaching professional who became a golf celebrity when he tied for 15th at the 2023 PGA Championship — with a hole-in-one on the final day — received a sponsor’s exemption into the Dick’s Open.
He made the most of his first round, shooting a 6-under 66 with seven birdies and one bogey. He’s tied for fifth with Bo Van Pelt, Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee.
“Man, I was super nervous,” Block said. “I told my son earlier in the day, who’s my caddie, I’m really more nervous today than I was even at the PGA Championship a month ago at Aronimink. It’s just because this is like my debut. Dick’s gave me a spot, which is a lot of pressure. I need to come up here and show up (or) shut up, right?
“Came here, I got it going, played my game. I’m confident, it feels good. Everyone here’s been very welcoming. … Everyone on the Champions Tour has been amazing. The players have been amazing.”
