Rod Pampling leads, favorites struggle at U.S Senior Open

STEVENS POINT, Wisconsin – At one point Thursday afternoon, 17 of the top 20 names on the U.S. Senior Open leaderboard had begun their first round on the back nine of SentryWorld. That included early leader Rod Pampling, who opened his tournament at 2-under on the back before finishing at 3-under for the day.

Then Steve Stricker set off the first tee box just after 2 p.m.

A tournament favorite coming in as the winner of the first two majors on the senior tour – and with the home-state good vibes emanating from his galleries – Stricker began his tournament with a solid 2-under 33 on the front with two birdies and seven pars.

The Madison resident was just one of just four players to not bogey at least one hole on the front nine.

The round seemed set up for Stricker to have a strong closing nine to supplant Pampling and his round of 68.

Then something odd happened.

The turn proved trouble for Stricker, as his tee shot ran up against a tree on the par-5 10th. His left-handed recovery attempt landed in a divot, and an admittedly over-aggressive bunker shot culminated in a double bogey on a hole that yielded birdies for most players.

That set him back to even for the tournament. Stricker then hit it in the water on the par-3 12th, leading to another double-bogey.

“You have to stay away from doubles,” he said. “If I make bogeys there, I shoot 1-under, and that’s the difference. You have to stay away from those.”

He finished with a 1-over 72, snapping his Tour-record 55 consecutive rounds at par or better. He admitted he thought about the streak down the stretch, but he wasn’t able to get one more birdie on his card.

“It can get you – I mean, I doubled 10, and it’s probably ranked one of the easier holes out there today,” Stricker said. “So any hole can come up and grab you. You just have to hit good shots, bottom line. You have to play smart, hit good shots, and not put yourself behind a tree.”

Pampling has a two-stroke lead over Mike Small, Retief Goosen and Miguel Ángel Jiménez

Stricker’s playing partner David Toms took advantage of the back nine to start, as he birdied 10, 11 and 12 to capture a share of the lead. But then he, too, backtracked with a 3-over finish down the stretch.

So it…