Aug 6, 2005 3 min read

BLAINE, Minn. (AP) – Tom Purtzer matched the tournament record with a 9-under 63 that included a hole-in-one, and he held a one-stroke lead over Bruce Lietzke on Friday at the 3M Championships at the TPC of the Twin Cities. Champions Tour rookie Don Reese had a 66, one stroke in front of nine players, including defending champion Tom Kite.

The group at 69 included U.S. Senior Open champion Allen Doyle and leading money-winner Dana Quigley.

Purtzer, seeking his first Champions Tour victory in 17 months, had seven birdies in addition to the hole-one-in in the bogey-free round. On his next-to-last hole of the day, he aced the 205-yard 8th with a 4-iron. He had a 6-under 30 on his second nine.

It was Purtzer’s first competitive hole-in-one since the 2003 SBC Classic, which was his first Champions Tour title.

“Someone dropped a bottle as I was ready to hit on No. 8 so I backed off the ball,” Purtzer said. “I stepped back in, tried to be positive, hit it, and it came off the club just the way I wanted it to. But I’m as surprised as anybody it went in. You don’t ever expect a tee shot to disappear into the hole.”

In 2003 and 2004, Purtzer took a lead into the final round of this event but couldn’t close out a win. Last year he shot a 74 on Sunday and tied for third, three behind Kite. In 2003, his final-round 74 left him in a tie for 10th, four behind winner Wayne Levi.

“I like this golf course but I’ve managed to fritter away a win here each of the last two years,” Purtzer said. “I don’t try to go out and screw up the last day. I figure one of these years I may sneak through and win here.”

Purtzer tied Don Pooley’s 63 in the second round in 2003 as the best score in the event’s 13-year history.

Purtzer, whose last tour win was the Toshiba Senior Classic in March 2004, lost to Mark McNulty in a playoff at the Bank of America Championships six weeks ago. He is 17th on this year’s money list, the same place he finished last year.

Lietzke, the 2001 3M champion, played his final 10 holes in 7 under. He chipped in from a bunker for an eagle at the par-5 3rd and had seven birdies and one bogey.

“I can’t think of a better course for me and my game,” Lietzke said. “This is where I had my first Senior Tour win, so there are great memories here. This is a course I always look forward to playing.”

Lietzke has had just two top-seven finishes this season and is 26th on the season money list. But he’s coming off a 12th-place finish at last week’s U.S. Senior Open. On his final round he holed a 219-yard shot for a double eagle en route to a closing 67.