This PGA Tour Champions player had an ace, a record score and a three-shot lead at Furyk & Friends

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A hole-in-one. A tie for the tournament 18-hole record. The first-round lead.

A good day for Scott Parel, who has had some not-so-good health issues this summer.

The Georgia graduate (who, unlike a host of PGA Tour players, did not play golf for the Bulldogs) aced the par-3 17th hole at the Timuquana Country Club on Friday and played the next eight holes 8 under. He finished with a 64 and took a three-shot lead over Jerry Kelly and Brett Quigley in the PGA Tour Champions Constellation Furyk & Friends.

Miguel Angel Jimenez led seven players at 4 under and Jacksonville native David Duval, who grew up playing golf at Timuquana, Vijay Singh are among five more at 3 under.

A pair of World Golf Hall of Fame members, Davis Love III and Retief Goosen, shot 2-under 70. Tournament host Jim Furyk, battling back pain, checked in with a 71 that included a run of three birdies in four holes on the back nine. Defending champion Steve Stricker bogeyed two of his last three holes and finished at even-par 72.

Kelly, Quigley and Love were the only bogey-free players in the first round.

Parel ace ignited round

Parel, who was in the first group to tee off No. 10, used an 8-iron from 158 yards out for the third ace in tournament history. He later birdied No. 18 then turned to the front nine and rattled off birdies at Nos. 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7.

He’s a four-time PGA Tour Champions winner and has a knack for hanging around with 43 top-10 finishes and 24 top-fives.

He tied Stricker for the tournament’s low round. Stricker shot his 64 in the second round last year, fueling his eventual two-shot victory.

“I hit the ball well … which I’ve been for a while,” said Parel, an Augusta, Georgia, resident and former computer programmer who didn’t turn professional until he was 31. He has carved out a respectable Champions tour career with more than $7.6 million in earnings.

Credit to good fortune

Parel termed his day “lucky.” Any hole-in-one involves long odds (3,000-to-1 for a pro) and after his birdie at No. 18, he pushed his tee shot near the trees at the first hole and it kicked out into the fairway. From there he made a par. Parel then birdied five of his next six holes.

“Got lucky and made a hole-in-one,” he said. “Got a really good break on [No.] 1 so it just seemed like it was my day today.”

Parel has been playing enough golf to know a pair of scores in the low 60s is difficult. But he hit 13 fairways and 13 greens and doesn’t expect that kind of accuracy to disappear overnight.

Through 22 starts this season, he leads the PGA Tour Champions in total driving and is ninth in greens in regulation.

“I’m just going to try to play like I did today,” he said. “I don’t expect to shoot another 8 under. I’ll hopefully hit the ball in the fairway and have some birdie chances.”

Overcoming health scare

He also said he’s feeling a bit better since doctors had to insert a stent in one of his arteries over the summer. He withdrew from the Ascension Charity Classic on Sept. 10 when he wasn’t feeling well but after seeing his doctor again, he got clearance to return.

“I’m feeling much healthier,” he said. “More than anything, it’s kind of off my mind now, right? It’s kind of been taken care of so I don’t have to wonder why my chest is hurting and why I’m short of breath. So that’s been a plus. I’m still not feeling 100 percent … but you’re not going to shoot 8 under if you’re not feeling good.”

Duval got within three shots of Parel at 5 under when he birdied Nos. 14 and 16, the latter on a 30-foot putt. But he three-putted No. 17 and bogeyed the last when he came up short of the green from a left fairway bunker and three-putted from around 80 feet off the front of the green.

Duval’s pattern this season has been to produce one good round per tournament and three weeks ago at the Sanford International, he posted his best Champions finish in terms of score and place when he shot 7-under 203 and tied for 18th.

“I did most everything good like I’ve been doing for the last few months,” he said. “[It] added up pretty decently for a while and just a little bit of a rough finish.”

Stricker bogey-free streak ends

Before a bogey at No. 16, Stricker had a streak of 62 bogey-free holes in a row, going back to the first round in 2022. He did not make a bogey on the weekend when he shot 64-69 to win. … Damage on the four Timuquana greens that had to be repaired Thursday after a vandalism incident was barely noticeable. The rules officials have enough room for three pins and players will be allowed relief if they have a putt with a damaged green in their line. “Even the butchered greens are better than some of the greens we play on,” Kelly said. “Definite shout-out to this grounds crew. Fantastic job.” … Colin Montgomerie was 10 over through 12 holes and withdrew because of an unspecified illness.