Tway seeking first win

NEWPORT BEACH — On the PGA Tour, those with ties to Oklahoma State have become well-known with Hunter Mahan and Rickie Fowler making so much noise.

On the Champions Tour, for golfers 50 and older, Bob Tway is trying to be heard from too. The 50-year-old, who won eight times on the PGA Tour, shot a six-under-par 65 to share the first-round lead with Mark Wiebe and Chien Soon Lu in the 16th annual Toshiba Classic Friday.

Tway, who is seeking his first win on the Champions Tour, shot his best round on the Champions Tour in 12 career starts. He sank seven birdies and had just one bogey. That came on No. 11.

“It was kind of in a footprint, and I missed about a foot putt, so that was disappointing,” Tway said. “Other than that I played well.”

The temperatures dropped and wind came through Newport Beach Country Club in the afternoon, but that didn’t affect Tway all that much because he was in the second group to tee off.

Today might be a whole different story, as golfers will try to beat the rain expected in the afternoon. The first group tees at 8:30 a.m., two hours earlier than what had been originally planned.

Tway will start with Wiebe and Chien Soon at 10:33. He’ll try to get that coveted first win on the Champions Tour. His best finish was tied for second at last year’s Administaff Small Business Classic.

Maybe he’ll gain some good vibes from Oklahoma State. He still remains faithful to his alma mater. He lives about 45 minutes from the campus. His son, Kevin, plays for the Cowboys’ men’s golf team. Father and son play golf frequently. When Kevin was a freshman two years ago, Fowler would join them. Kevin and Fowler were roommates.

Even Tway marvels at the way young players like Fowler can hit the ball. Tway hit it quite well Friday to become a leader.

But not far behind lurks Fred Couples, who is one shot back, tied with three others. Couples is in his third start on the Champions Tour. He has shown he is a contender.

Couples already has a victory, and he opened the year with a runner-up finish before coming to Newport Beach.

He was also a big reason for causing even more traffic on a Friday on Pacific Coast Highway.

Hordes of people lined the ropes, following Couples, as well as Tom Watson and Mark O’Meara. Couples was the leader of that bunch.

“It’s nice to see people come out,” Couples said. “That’s a lot of people on a Friday.”

Eduardo Romero, trying to become the Toshiba Classic’s first repeat winner, is one of eight at four-under.