Springfield, MO (My Sportsbook) - Robert Damron and Chad Collins both shot eight-under 64 on Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Price Cutter Charity Championship.
Roger Tambellini, the 2005 champion, leads a group of 10 players tied at seven-under 65.
The others are Alex Prugh, Henrik Bjornstad, Brent Delahoussaye, Brendan Steele, Tommy Gainey, Chris Nallen, David Branshaw, Justin Bolli and Derek Lamely.
Eleven players sit another shot further back at 66, and there are 76 golfers overall within five strokes of the co-leaders.
On a course --- Highland Springs Country Club -- that has produced six straight champions at 21-under par or better, it wasn't surprising that 117 players in a field of 156 finished the first round in red numbers.
"You have to go low every day," said Collins. "You definitely have to go out there and get all of the par fives. I think three-under is equivalent to par on this course."
Collins, playing in an earlier group off the 10th tee, finished ahead of Damron. He made six birdies and an eagle at the par-five 11th to post his 64.
The 30-year-old, who claimed his only Nationwide Tour win at the 2005 Henrico County Open, currently sits 25th on the money list -- the last position for a PGA Tour card for next season.
Damron, meanwhile, is splitting time on two tours this season -- and struggling on both.
The 36-year-old has missed four cuts in five starts on the PGA Tour -- where he won the 2001 Byron Nelson Classic -- and has eight missed cuts in 12 starts on the Nationwide Tour, where he picked up his only title at last year's Athens Regional Foundation Classic.
But all that mattered Thursday was his first-round 64, during which he birdied half of his holes. Only a bogey at the par-four 14th kept him from passing Collins for sole possession of the lead.
"I just trusted my caddie and paid attention to him -- hopefully he knows what he's doing the next three days," Damron joked. "I played conservatively on some tee shots that I probably didn't have to, and I'll probably stick to that game plan."
