Savannah's Gene Sauers and playing partner Kenny Perry are tied for 11th after the first round Friday of the Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf at The Club at Savannah Harbor.
They carded a 6-under-par 66 in the three-round Champions Tour event Friday through Sunday.
Brad Faxon and teammate Jeff Sluman lead at 10-under 62, while 2009 Legends champions Bernhard Langer and Tom Lehman are one stroke back at 63. A logjam at third place at 8 under features Andy North and Tom Watson, Tom Kite and Gil Morgan, and Craig Stadler and Kirk Triplett.
Sauers and Kentuckian Perry birdied Nos. 2, 3, 11, 14, 15 and 16. They had no bogeys on their card in the two-man, better-ball format.
Sauers, who turned 50 last August, was an alternate to the tournament before getting into the Raphael Division, a two-round unofficial tour competition, on Tuesday. On Wednesday, after Russ Cochran missed his tee time in that day's pro-am and was disqualified, Sauers benefitted and became Perry's partner for the Legends Division, which is an official money and points event on the tour for players 50 and older.
Sauers was a three-time winner on the PGA Tour.