CASTLE ROCK, Colo., Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Steve Pate, trying to regain full playing status on the PGA Tour, had an eagle and piled up 11 points Thursday to take the lead after the opening round of The International.
Pate, 41, won the last of his six tour titles four years ago, had a one-point lead over Rich Beem and Billy Mayfair in a tournament that uses a modified Stableford scoring system to determine the champion.
The Castle Pines Golf Club course provided a tougher test than usual Thursday, but Pate reached 13 points by making an eagle at his 10th hole, the 644-yard first. He suffered two bogeys the rest of the way cost him one point each.
Tied for fourth with nine points were Duffy Waldorf, John Senden, Heath Slocum and Hank Kuehne, a former U.S. Amateur champion who is playing on a sponsor's exemption.
Kuehne made seven birdies and would have had a share of the lead had he not double bogeyed the par-4 sixth hole, thus costing him three points.
Ernie Els, making his first appearance since capturing the British Open, was among those with eight points while Sergio Garcia had seven. Both David Duval and Phil Mickelson were tied for 99th place with minus two points.
An eagle is worth five points and a birdie is worth two in the unique scoring system while a player loses one point for a bogey and three for a double bogey or worse.
