ESPN Golf

HOOVER, Ala. -- Dan Forsman made three straight birdies on both the front and back nine Friday, shooting 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Regions Charity Classic.

Forsman began his first run of birdies at No. 2, then followed with a trio beginning at No. 14, to post his lowest first-round score of the year on the Champions Tour.

"A lot of the credit goes to the [course] superintendent and his staff. The conditions were perfect," Forsman said. "The weather was a huge factor also. Very little wind, and with the [rain] we've had all week, the greens were receptive.

"It was there for the taking in some respects."

Keith Fergus, Larry Mize and Hal Sutton all shot 6-under 66 on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Ross Bridge. Sutton did it with a string of four straight birdies beginning at No. 14, with all of his birdie putts from 6 feet or less.

"I hit a lot of good iron shots, and you can shoot a low score when you get them that close," Sutton said. "I had really good targets on every one of those, and I felt like I could just turn it loose. That's when you start hitting it close."

Tom McKnight, Gil Morgan, Eduardo Romero, Chris Starkjohann and Jim Thorpe were at 5 under, and 12 players were another shot back.

Former major winner Bob Tway shot 4-over 76 in his Champions Tour debut.

Because of recent heavy rain, lift-clean-and-place rules were in effect on the 7,295-yard layout in central Alabama.

"It was a great day to play golf," Mize said. "The conditions were good for scoring, and that's what you saw out there. There were a lot of good scores."

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press