Kite takes lead at US Senior Open

Published Jul. 12, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Tom Kite set a U.S. Golf Association championship nine-hole record with a 28 and finished at 5-under 65 to take the early first-round lead at the U.S. Senior Open.

The 62-year-old Kite says 60 is the new 40.

Kite matched the lowest nine-hole score of his career on the front nine at Indianwood on Thursday. He had a second-round 28 on his first nine last year at the Champion Tour's Hickory Classic.

Corey Pavin's sixth birdie on his 17th hole pulled him into a tie atop the leaderboard, but a penalty pushed him back to the pack after completing his first round.

Pavin hit a chip after his ball moved back a fraction of an inch when he grounded his club on his 14th hole and that later cost him two strokes.

''Yeah, I agree,'' he said after watching slow-motion replays of the infraction with officials in a TV trailer.

That setback put Bernhard Langer and Lance Ten Broeck in second place, one shot behind Kite. It pushed Pavin into a five-way tie for fourth with Fred Funk, Jeff Sluman, Tom Pernice Jr. and Mikael Hogberg at 3-under 67.