CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Greg Powers, who had eight birdies in nine holes during the first round of the Chattanooga Gold Cup Classic, said shooting in the 50s crossed his mind before he ran into a triple-bogey on the 16th hole.
Powers ended up with a 7-under-par 64 Thursday to tie veteran Lee Elder for the lead in the $150,000 event.
Powers and Elder led the attack on the Valleybrook Golf and Country Club, where 91 players in the field of 150 played the 6,516-yard layout at par or better.
Powers, who lost in a sudden-death playoff to Bob Charles in the Tallahassee Open three weeks ago, had 10 birdies, while Elder, runner-up in last week's Houston Open, had seven birdies.
The Gold Cup is the third in a series of 10 Tournament Players Series events. The 72-hole tourney, the first PGA tour event to be played in East Tennessee, was preceded by the Tallahassee Open and Magnolia Classic in Hattiesburg, Miss.
Powers, a former Tennessee PGA Section and Tennessee Open champion, who plays out of Tallahassee, returned to the state of his alma mater, Memphis State, in grand style, birdieing eight of nine holes in one stretch.
After 13 holes he was 9-under-par.
'I've never even thought about shooting in the 50s before, but there was a point when I got to 9-under-par with five holes to play that it crossed my mind,' he said.
But those hopes were dashed at the 237-yard, par-3 16th, where he sustained his triple-bogey.
Bill Calfee, who was last year's tour driving distance-winner, Frank Fuhrer of Pittsburgh, and George Kadle, who plays out of Indian Wells, Calif., had 65s to trail by one stroke.
Calvin Peete, a four-time winner on the tour last year, joined Charles and South African Open champion Charlie Bolling of Rosemont, Pa., at 5-under 66.
