Boeing Classic | Two top the field at Snoqualmie

SNOQUALMIE — A former U.S. Open champion shares the Boeing Classic lead with a golfer who made a splash in his Champions Tour debut last year.

Scott Simpson, winner of the 1987 U.S. Open, moved into a tie at 5-under 67 with Mark Wiebe when Wiebe bogeyed the 18th hole for his only bogey of the day Friday.

Wiebe (pronounced "WEE-be") had round one's best start as he birdied four of the first five holes.

He also had the day's biggest scare.

Wiebe was lining up his putt on the "Canyon hole," the par-4 14th that requires a 278-yard carry, when a tee shot hit by Sandy Lyle landed about 15 feet away from him on the green.

It was an obvious mishit because only golfers who intend to lay up on the hole tee off when the group ahead of them is still on the green.

Wiebe, who was born in Seaside, Ore., and lives in Denver, was obviously perturbed. After the round he told reporters, "I have nothing to say about that."

What he would talk about was the way he is playing.

"I like my game. I like the way I'm playing," he said. "With a couple of exceptions today, for not knowing the golf course, I felt I did pretty well maneuvering my ball around. And to maneuver your ball around a golf course you don't know, you have to have control. I felt like I did that pretty well."

Wiebe, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour who was injury-riddled in his late-40s, joined the over-50 Tour last September and became the 12th player to win his Champions Tour debut, which was the SAS Championship in North Carolina. It was his first victory since 1986. He won this year in April at the Tour's stop in the Dominican Republic.

Simpson is an easygoing, football-loving USC grad who said: "I hit the ball pretty straight today. I had a lot of birdie putts."

Simpson shot a 61 at the Boeing Classic in 2006 for the best round of his life. He finished tied for third in the tournament that year.

Tied for third at 4-under 68 are Gary Hallberg, David Edwards and Bob Gilder of Corvallis.

Hallberg said confidence in his new caddie, Greg McMillan, had helped him.

McMillan is the second caddie to help Hallberg this summer. In early July, Hallberg's 14-year-old son, Eric, filled in and gave his father some blunt putting advice: "Quit leaving everything short."

One of the hottest golfers on the Tour cooled off Friday.

Fred Funk, who entered this tournament after a first- and second-place finish in the two senior majors this month, struggled and finished at 5-over 77.

The announced attendance was 15,000. Tee times for today have been moved up 30 minutes to accommodate TV. Golfers will start teeing off at 11 a.m., with leaders going off at 1 p.m.

Because 2 inches of rain fell on the course earlier in the week, golfers were allowed to clean and place their balls on the fairway.

Twenty four golfers in the field of 78 broke par, and the average score of 72.974 is the highest first-round average in the tournament's four-year history. Two former Boeing champions, Tom Kite (69) and David Eger (70), are in contention.

Scores could go lower today as the 7,183-yard course gets drier.

"If you're playing well, 64 or 65 seems possible," Simpson said.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com

Boeing Classic at Snoqualmie

(Played at the 7,183 yard, par 72 TPC Snoqualmie Ridge)

First round

Tee times

Second round

TPC SNOQUALMIE RIDGE TEE #1

11 a.m. — John Morse, Jim Thorpe, Tom Purtzer

11:10 a.m. — Dan Forsman, Hugh Baiocchi, Kirk Hanefeld

11:20 a.m. — Mike Reid, Tom Jenkins, Allen Doyle

11:30 a.m. — Bruce Vaughan, John Cook, Brad Bryant

11:40 a.m. — Tom McKnight, Wayne Grady, Don Pooley

11:50 a.m. — Fuzzy Zoeller, Jack Ferenz, Tim Conley

Noon — Andy Bean, R.W., Eaks, Mark O'Meara

12:10 p.m. — Tim Simpson, Ronnie Black, Keith Fergus

12:20 p.m. — David Eger, Mark McNulty, Nick Price

12:30 p.m. — James Mason, Kenny Knox, Walter Hall

12:40 p.m. — Tom Kite, Hale Irwin, Ron Streck

12:50 p.m. — David Edwards, Bob Gilder, Bruce Fleisher

1 p.m. — Scott Simpson, Mark Wiebe, Gary Hallberg

TPC SNOQUALMIE RIDGE TEE #10

11 a.m. — Lonnie Nielsen, D.A. Weibring, Sandy Lyle

11:10 a.m. — Mark W. Johnson, Ben Crenshaw, Mike Hulbert

11:20 a.m. — Mike San Filippo, Gene Jones, Leonard Thompson

11:30 a.m. — David Ogrin, Denis Watson, Bruce Lietzke

11:40 a.m. — Joe Ozaki, Ed Dougherty, Phil Blackmar

11:50 a.m. — Dave Rummells, Mike McCullough, Dana Quigley

Noon — Jeff Sluman, Ken Green, Don Bies

12:10 p.m. — John Harris, Morris Hatalsky, Fred Gibson

12:20 p.m. — Chip Beck, Mike Donald, Massy Kuramoto

12:30 p.m. — Vicente Fernandez, Lon Hinkle, Dave Eichelberger

12:40 p.m. — Gil Morgan, Fred Funk, Jeff Coston

12:50 p.m. — Danny Edwards, Mike Goodes, Mike Smith

1 p.m. — Graham Marsh, Curtis Strange