Simpson and Allen Doyle were the only players in the 78-man field to finish without a bogey on Friday.

First-round leader Scott Simpson’s 5-under-par 67 was his best opening round of his brief Champions Tour career. It also marks the first time he has held an opening-round lead on the Champions Tour. Simpson was making just his 10th start since turning 50 last September.

David Eger’s 4-under-par 68 earned him a tie for second place with Gil Morgan, just one stroke behind Simpson. Eger has enjoyed previous success in Mexico, winning the 2003 MasterCard Classic in Mexico City.

Bruce Lietzke, who won the 2002 Audi Senior Classic in Mexico City and finished second the following year, is also off to a good start. Lietzke grabbed the lead after making an eagle on the par-4 13th hole, but followed with three straight bogeys to fall from the lead and eventually finish at 2-under-par 70. He is tied for 10th place.

Lietzke also had the fewest putts on Friday with 25.

Mark Johnson, a tie for second finisher in his last start at the Toshiba Classic, shot a 3-under-par 69, giving him four straight rounds in the 60s. His good start should come as no surprise, however. He ranks fifth on the Champions Tour in first-round scoring average at 69.17.

John Harris’ string of consecutive bogey-free holes ended at 31 when he made a bogey on his first hole on Friday.

One of the day’s best turnarounds was turned in by Lonnie Nielsen. After shooting a 7-over-par 43 on the front nine, Nielsen bounced back with a 2-under-par 34 on the back nine, a nine-shot swing. He finished with a 77.

The most difficult holes on Friday were Nos. 6 & 14 with an average score of 4.423 (+.423) on the holes. There were 34 bogeys, one double and one triple bogey on No. 6 and 34 bogeys and two double bogeys on No. 14. The easiest hole was No. 8 with an average score of 4.731 (.-269). There were three eagles and 28 birdies.

Overall, the field averaged 73.513 with nine rounds in the 60s and 22 players under par. That is the second highest opening-round scoring average on the Champions Tour this year. The highest was recorded at the AT&T Classic when the field averaged 73.615.