Price, Eger share lead at Charles Schwab Cup Championship

Oct 31, 2008 - 2:43 AM SONOMA, California (Ticker) -- It appears that Nick Price got hot just a little too late.

Price grabbed a share of the lead with a 6-under-par 66 in the first round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on Thursday.

The native of Zimbabwe is tied atop the leaderboard with David Eger, who began the season-ending $2.5 million tournament with a round that included seven birdies and a bogey.

Coming off consecutive top-10 finishes, Price got off to a great start with a bogey-free round that was highlighted by a strong finish, as he notched four birdies over his last six holes.

"I hit the ball really well today," Price said. "I drove the ball as straight as I've driven it for a while. Hit a couple of really long tee shots. Just had good control with my irons."

A winner of three majors on the PGA Tour, Price has yet to win on the Champions Tour over 32 previous starts.

While he is in a good spot to make a run at the event's $440,000 first-place prize, Price does not have a chance to challenge for the Charles Schwab Cup, which will be decided at the completion of this tournament. He trails current leader Jay Haas (2,556) by 1,433 points, well beyond the 844 given to the winner of this event.

Eger is in a similar spot, as the 56-year-old only has compiled 290 points during the season-long competition.

In fact, Eger just sneaked into the field of the top 29 money earners on the tour, pocketing $645,921 to place 28th.

"There are a lot of good players who aren't here," Eger said. "Hale Irwin for the first time, (Gil) Morgan, Jim Thorpe, (Dana) Quigley. I guess that's something that happens every year here. You don't want it to be your year that you don't play.

"I've had a year where I haven't played (this tournament), and it was pretty dismal that winter. This is a very, very nice way to end the year."

Sitting a shot back after Thursday's opening round is Mike Goodes, who notched six birdies en route to a 5-under 67.

Goodes' presence here is a bit of a surprise after the 49-year-old only qualified for the tour last season.

"I really didn't think that you could go through the qualifying system like we've had at the last two years and have to do Monday qualifiers and get in enough tournaments to finish top 30," he said. "I really didn't think that was possible. You just got to play good, have some really good tournaments at the right time, which I did."

Now that he is in good standing on the tour, Goodes feels he has a great chance to compete for a title.

"I feel like I've got a little room to breathe," he said. "I've got some freedom to try to play more aggressive. This is a great tournament to do it at."

Tom Kite and Andy Bean are tied for fourth, sitting two strokes back following 68s. Both golfers did notch a win on the Champions Tour this season.

Haas, who holds just a 12-point lead over Fred Funk in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, is among a group of nine golfers who are tied for sixth following a 69.

A two-time winner on the tour this season, Funk had a disastrous start to the event with a 2-over 74 that included a triple-bogey on the par-3 7th.

Bernard Langer, who has a $49,347 lead over Haas in the race for the the money earnings title and the Arnold Palmer Award that comes with it, carded a 71. The German also is in contention for the Charles Schwab Cup, sitting 96 points back in the standings.

Defending champion Thorpe is not in the field as he failed to qualify.