Rocco Mediate leads Senior PGA Championship after stunning 62

Rocco Mediate made a blistering start at the Senior PGA Championship in Michigan where he reached the turn in just 29 shots and went on to post an opening 62 for a one-stroke lead at Harbor Shore.

The 53-year-old American played the first 13 holes in nine under par, taking advantage of greens softened by overnight rain at the Jack Nicklaus-designed course.

Live Senior PGA Championship

Mediate, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour, said: "Greens were good. Soft. They received pretty well.

"I know it rained like heck last night. I heard it but the golf course was fine. Greens were good. Everything was good. A little softer.

"Overall it was solid stuff. A lot of fairways. A bunch of greens and when I missed, it was in the right spot.

"I hit it close, so I had a lot of short putts for birdie. I didn't really make a long one. It was one of those days. I just drove it really well. I hit a lot of solid irons."

Mediate, who lost a play-off to Tiger Woods in the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, said he has been working hard on his game.

He added: "Stuff I'm working on is coming around. I'm just trying to get back to what I used to do and that's hit the ball in the middle of the face most of the time. It's been a few years since that's happened.

"I'm fitter than I've been in 20 years. I'm as fit as I was in 2000 right now. So I have no issues there. It's just a matter of getting back to what worked."

His closest challenger after 18 holes is Gene Sauers, who fired an eight-under-par 63 while the leading European is Pedro Linhart. The Spaniard is three strokes off the pace and is the only non-American in the top nine.

Four Brits are among a host of players in a tie for 10th. They are Colin Montgomerie, Paul Broadhurst, Simon Brown and Barry Lane.

The two-time defending champion Montgomerie was six under for his opening 10 holes before the Scot suffered a brace of late bogeys, at 16 and 17, in his 67.

Bernhard Langer is hoping to win the only senior major to, so far, elude him. The 58-year-old German, who has six senior major wins to his name, is seven off the pace.

He opened with a 69 and is tied for 30th, as he bids to join Nicklaus as the only player to have won all the majors at senior level.

But it was not a great start for 50-year-old John Daly, whose 75 contained a mixed bag of six birdies, three bogies, one double bogey, plus a nine on the par-four 16th.

First-round leaderboard (US unless stated):

62: Rocco Mediate

63: Gene Sauers

64: Mike Goodes

65: Kenny Perry

65: Kirk Triplett

65: John Dal Corobbo

66 Pedro Linhart (Esp)

66: Olin Browne

66: Bill Glasson