US TOUR: Chad Campbell appears to peaking at the right time for his title defence at the Bay Hill Invitational next week. The quiet Texan set the early pace at The Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida yesterday, with an eight under par 64.
Starting at the 10th Campbell reached the turn at two under par 34 with the help of an eagle at the 17th where he holed a wedge from 70 yards. However, he blitzed the back nine in a six birdie 30 for his eight under par total.
Sweden's Jesper Parnevik is three shots back after a 67 while Aaron Baddeley is on four under par.
Graeme McDowell is six shots back after a 70. The Irishman had halves of one under par with birdies on the first, fifth, 12th and 18th and dropped shots at the sixth and 10th.
Padraig Harrington had an indifferent day with just one birdie in a one over par 73.
SENIORS TOUR: Ireland's Denis O'Sullivan will be among the favourites for a second successive victory when he tees-up in the Tobago Plantations Beach and Golf Resort today.
O'Sullivan is the man in form after opening the 2005 Seniors Tour season with victory at the Barbados Open last week. The 56 year old, who will celebrate his 57th birthday today, won the first event of 2005 by three strokes from John Grace of the USA and will be hoping to continue that rich vein of form in Tobago.
Joining O'Sullivan in the field will be Eamonn Darcy, one of Ireland's most celebrated golfers having represented Europe in four Ryder Cups - including that unforgettable win over America at Muirfield Village, Colombus, Ohio, USA, in 1987, who makes his seasonal debut this week.
However, posing a threat to the Irish pair will be England's Carl Mason.
Mason is aiming to secure the 10th victory of his remarkable European Seniors Tour career as he begins the defence of his title.
The 51 year old joined the Seniors Tour in the middle of the 2003 season and since then has dominated the circuit, winning the Order of Merit in both 2003 and 2004 and establishing himself as the undisputed Seniors Tour Number One.
Mason beat Australian David Good by three strokes at the par 72 Tobago Plantations Beach and Golf Resort last year, with 2003 champion Terry Gale third.
Scotland's John Chillas finished second to Gale two seasons ago, as well as in 2002, before taking fifth place at the same event last season..
The 58 year old, who has two European Seniors Tour victories to his name, can again have a big influence in this, the second event of the 2005 Seniors Tour Schedule.
CHALLENGE TOUR: Justin Kehoe is the best placed Irishman after he shot a level par 70 on the opening day of the Kenya Open at Karen.
On a hot but blustery day in Nairobi that tested everyone in the field, Kehoe turned in a gritty performance to lie in joint 14th place.
That leaves him four strokes behind the joint leaders, James Kamte from South Africa and Argentina's Daniel Vancsik who are a shot ahead of another Argentinean, Miguel Rodriguez, Alvero Salto from Spain and Sweden's Michael Lundberg.
However, the conditions didn't favour the rest of the Irish contingent. David Higgins went round in two over par 72, one better than Colm Moriarty, while Tim Rice and Michael Hoey both finished with 75 and Raymond Burns on 77.
McGINLEY COMMITS: Irishman Paul McGinley, a member of last year's victorious European Ryder Cup team, has confirmed he will play in the £1.7million Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters on the Marriott Forest of Arden course near Birmingham in May.
