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Bucek leads Adirondack Senior Open golf tourney

08/29/2012

LAKE PLACID - Mark Bucek fired 3-under-par 68 on a chilly Wednesday morning as the Adirondack Senior Open, part of the Sunbelt Senior Golf Tour, got underway at the Whiteface Club and Resort.

The Sunbelt tour is a developmental circuit for players 45 and older who aspire to play on the Champions Tour.

The 51 year old from Winter Park, Fla. posted four birdies against just one bogey on the tight, par 71 Whiteface layout.

Mark Bucek strokes a putt Wednesday on the fifth green (John DiGiacomo/Placid Times Photography)

Five-time PGA Tour winner Danny Edwards, of Scottsdale, Ariz., leads the Super Seniors (55 and older) with an opening 2-under 69. The round was highlighted by birdies on the final two holes.

Bucek is trailed closely by four players, including defending champion Javier Sanchez, who fired 2-under 69s on the 6,500 yard track.

Sanchez, of Mexico, was 2 under par through 10 holes, but failed to capitalize on Whiteface's scoreable final three holes. The short par four 16th and the reachable par fives at 17 and 18 only yielded pars to Sanchez.

He is joined at 69 by Lloyd Fisher, of Grand Rapids, Mich. Fisher, who recently captured the Connecticut Senior Open and tied for second in the Michigan Senior Open, was even par prior to birdies on 17 and 18.

Mitch Adcock played topsy-turvy golf until the final two holes. The West Point, Miss. player stepped onto the 17th tee at 1 over par, but a birdie-eagle finish put him in the red.

Tim Conley, of Gainesville, Ga., bolted to 3-under through the opening seven holes on the clear, sunny morning, but could not sustain the momentum and also settled for 69.  

Twelve players are within five shots of Bucek heading into Thursday's second round.

Edwards is five shots clear of Gary Odom, of Greenwood, S.C., in the Super Senior division going into round two.

The 54-hole tournament concludes on Friday, and may come down to the closing stretch where momentum shifts and lead changes await.

Spectators are welcomed to attend free of charge.