BERNHARD LANGER, the defending champion, was among a record eight players sharing the lead after the first round of the Senior Open at Sunningdale.
The German ripped up the record books on his own 12 months ago as he raced to an unprecedented 13-shot victory at Royal Porthcawl but he had to share another piece of history on this occasion following a five-under-par opening round of 65.
That total was matched by the American quintet of Michael Allen, Bart Bryant, Marco Dawson, Lee Janzen and Jeff Sluman, Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez and Lianwei Zhang, who also created history by becoming the first Chinese player to compete in the Senior Open.
Scotland's Colin Montgomerie is in another group of eight two behind the lead is a share of 12th place.
The previous record for the most players tied for first-round lead was four players, set in 2004 at Royal Portrush and equalled three years later at Muirfield.
Langer is bidding to equal Gary Player and Tom Watson's shared record of three Senior Open wins and despite not hitting top gear, the 57-year-old former Ryder Cup captain moved ominously to the top of the leaderboard with six birdies against a single bogey, which came on the sixth hole.
“I held it together well today,” Langer said. “My putting was pretty good. I don't feel totally comfortable with my swing yet and I’m still working on it. But overall, five-under is a good score and I didn't make any major mistakes.”
His playing partner Jimenez, 51, is competing in his second Senior Open after finishing tied eighth last year. The oldest winner in European Tour history also carded six birdies, with his only bogey of the day on the 17th hole.
Mark Mouland of Wales, the American Brian Henninger and Cesar Monasterio from Argentina are one shot behind the leaders on four under par. Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie and Watson are among eight players tied a further shot back on three under par.
Montgomerie, who finished runner-up to Langer last year, posted five birdies but double bogeyed the par-four 11th.
“It was disappointing to double a hole because the course was playing as easy as it possibly can be,” the Scot said. “If that's the worst score I do around here, I should be okay.”
Watson managed one more birdie than his playing partner Montgomerie, but also dropped three shots on the back nine.
On a day of firsts, the Englishman Barry Lane also entered the record books after holing his 218-yard second shot with a 4-iron on the par-five first hole. He became the first player in Senior Tour history to begin a tournament with an albatross. The feat was repeated when the American Steve Jones holed his 179-yard approach with a 6-iron.
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