Title-holder David Lane shares
lead in English Seniors

David Lane proved he isn't going to relinquish the English Seniors Championship without a fight by sharing the lead after a sunny opening day in Kent.
Lane, who won the title for the third time a year ago at Enville in Staffordshire, carded a one-over-par 71 to be joint leader with Nick Rogers from Hampshire, Warwickshire's Neil Stewart, and former Walker Cup man Peter Hedges, all four players being in action at Knole Park.
They are a stroke ahead of Alastair Brown from Cheshire and Cornwall's Michael Marshall, both at Knole Park, and two clear of Welsh international John Jermine and former English champion Doug Arnold from Sussex, who produced the best returns at Wildernesse.
"I'm happy with 71, said 66-year-old Lane, pictured above playing in the Scottish Seniors Open amateur at Elgin by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved). "The course was good and the greens superb at Knole Park, which isn't an easy course with a par of 70. The key is to play the six short holes in par and I managed to be one under. I am at Wildernesse tomorrow and you can really make a score around there."
Rogers, 56, plays off four handicap at Brokenhurst Manor Golf Club, while 57-year-old Stewart from Nuneaton is also off four. Hedges, who played in two Walker Cups and 73 times for England in the 1970s and 1980s, and is still off scratch at the age of 61, is a distinct threat. He lives in nearby Sevenoaks and is due to play his home course at Wildernesse tomorrow.
Wildernesse with its tree-lined fairways, was a tough nut to crack. After a lot of rain there was little run on the ball, it played its full 6,532-yards, and there were some imaginative pin positions as one player put it. Jermine found two birdies in his 73, while Arnold carded three.
"You can always say it could have been a couple of shots better but I am happy with that.", declared Arnold. "You've just got to keep in contention in the first round and I have done that with a very steady round."
Another "Steady Eddie" was former speedway ace Dave Jessup who returned 74 at Wildernesse on his maiden appearance in a seniors event in the UK having turned 55 in March. But the Kent man already has a senior title under his belt after winning an Over-50s tournament in South Africa last winter.
He also had surgery earlier this year for a torn tendon in his shoulder but showed he is fit enough to make an impression on the senior scene. While Lane was making sure he stayed in contention, some of his England senior international team-mates were finding the Kent courses a problem. Bob Knott and Gordon Broster both returned 78 at Knole Park, while Roy Smethurst and Jon Marks went round Wildernesse in 77 and 79 respectively.
There was some excuse for Smethurst who was playing his first competitive round in seven months, having undergone a hernia operation at the end of February.
"I didn't start playing again until the end of April," he admitted. "I was quite pleased with the way I hit the ball but I just didn't putt well. When you haven't played a competitive round for so long you can't expect any more. I had chances but I'm just a bit rusty."