Stadler, Hoch and Spittle lead new Champions event

Endicott, NY (Sports Network) - Craig Stadler, Scott Hoch and Rod Spittle each shot three-under 69 Friday to take the lead at a new Champions Tour event, the Dick's Sporting Goods Open.
They led a group of seven players who were tied at two-under 70.
The new event swept into En-Joie Golf Club this year after the PGA Tour's B.C. Open, a longtime staple of that circuit's schedule, was lifted this season, leaving the area without a professional golf tournament.
Stadler played in his first B.C. Open in 1977 and posted six top-10 finishes in 13 starts, eventually winning it in 2003 -- his last victory on the PGA Tour.
He's glad there is still a professional stop at En-Joie.
"It's great the way they have supported [the PGA Tour] for 33 years," said Stadler. "I love playing here, and I'll always come back."
On Friday, Stadler was the first to post 69 after a round that included six birdies and three bogeys. He made his first bogey at No. 4, but came back with four consecutive birdies, including two on putts of 15 feet and 20 feet, to make the turn at three-under.
Stadler made back-to-back bogeys beginning at the 10th, then chipped to three feet at the 12th to set up a birdie. He closed with a birdie putt from nine feet at the 18th.
"You always get a confidence boost when you come back to a place and play well," said Stadler, who hasn't won since 2004.
Hoch went out in the group behind Stadler and made five birdies and two bogeys to join him in the lead. He made his first birdie at No. 1 on a 50-foot putt -- but later, Hoch would three-putt at the 15th for a bogey that dropped him back to three-under.
The rest of his group -- Fuzzy Zoeller and Jim Thorpe -- didn't make a birdie between them Friday.
"It played difficult," said Hoch. "The wind was crossing on most holes and it made it difficult to hit fairways. There were many ways to be frustrated."
Spittle went off in the second-to-last group and had no problems making birdies early on, rolling in putts of three feet on No. 2 and 12 feet on No. 7 to make the turn at two-under.
He collected another birdie at No. 12, where he blasted out from a bunker to eight feet, then finished his bogey-free round with six consecutive pars to join Stadler and Hoch in the lead.
"I'd like to tiptoe around the next couple of days," said Spittle, who owns no career professional wins.
Bruce Vaughan, Massy Kuramoto, Ed Dougherty, Bruce Fleisher, Tim Simpson, Tim Conley and Jack Ferenz were all one shot off the lead at two-under 70.
There were 10 more players another shot further back at 71, including Senior PGA Championship winner Denis Watson, and 49 players overall within five shots of the leaders.