CHAMPIONS

• Kite's 63 leads Bank of America Championship

  
  

  Concord, MA (Sports Network) - Tom Kite fired a nine-under 63 on Friday to take the first-round lead at the Bank of America Championship.

  Mark McNulty and David Eger shot matching seven-under 65s to trail Kite by two shots, while John Morse carded a five-under 67 and was four back.

  Twelve players were knotted at four-under 68, including defending champion Jay Haas, and there were 43 players overall who broke par Friday at Nashawtuc Country Club.

  Kite, the 1992 U.S. Open champion and a nine-time Champions Tour winner, posted nine birdies for a flawless 63 -- his lowest score in more than three years.

  His threesome, which also included McNulty and the defending champion Haas, was a combined 20-under par on Friday.

  "It was a good group to play with," said Kite. "I felt very comfortable with them, and we all fed off one another. It was a good day all around." Kite got off to a quick start with birdies at his first three holes, knocking a nine-iron to four feet at No. 1 and then rolling in 18-foot putts at Nos. 2 and 3.

  He holed a 30-footer for birdie at the sixth, knocked a five-iron to tap-in range at the eighth and then drained a 12-foot putt at the ninth for six birdies and a front-nine 30.

  The back nine was slower -- only three birdies in nine holes for a 33 -- but it was enough to give Kite his lowest Champions Tour round since a 63 in the second round of the Regions Charity Classic on May 22, 2005.

  He chipped in from 37 feet for his last birdie at the 16th, moving to nine- under for the round.

  "I missed some opportunities to take it even lower," said Kite. "But I also took advantage of some others." Kite has been winless on the Champions Tour since claiming two victories in 2006.

  He has struggled this season, finishing outside the top-20 in eight of his 14 starts while also missing a cut on the PGA Tour.

  He was part of a four-way playoff at the Ace Group Classic in February, which was won by Scott Hoch.

  "It's been an up-and-down year for me," said the 58-year-old Kite, who won 19 times on the PGA Tour.

  "I've putted well, but just haven't struck the ball well." But Nashawtuc Country Club fit his eye on Friday, and Kite had just his second 18-hole in two years.

  "The course is in great shape," he said. "It's the best I can remember it."

  06/20 16:47:25 ET