OMAHA, Neb. -- Its never been so crowded at the top of the U.S. Senior Open leaderboard. When Tom Lehman chipped in from 45 feet on the 18th hole Thursday, he joined six others at 3-under 67 for the first round at the Omaha Country Club. There had never been as many as seven co-leaders after the opening round of the event. The previous record was five in 1997. "In one round, 18 holes, its like a sprint," Lehman said. "Over the course of four rounds, which is more like a marathon, things really do spread out. The field will thin out." Kenny Perry shot a 67 in the morning, putting together a solid start in his bid for a second straight win in a senior major. Michael Allen and Jay Don Blake also were 3 under after their morning rounds, and Gary Hallberg, Mark OMeara, Fred Funk and Lehman came in with the same score in the afternoon. The hilly 6,700-yard course took a toll on the field of golfers age 50 and older, especially in the afternoon as temperatures reached the upper 80s with a light breeze. The small and undulating greens browned up in the heat and proved dicey. "When you get tough conditions and youre playing good, you get rewarded," Funk said. "More than likely, the guy thats playing the best in these kind of conditions will be at the top. Hopefully, it will be me." Perry, who won the Senior Players Championship two weeks ago at Fox Chapel, Pa., made five birdies against two bogeys. The season points leader started on the back nine and had birdies on three of his first eight holes. He hit an 8-iron to within 10 feet on the par-3 11th, drove the green on the 312-yard, par-4 13th, and hit hybrid-pitching wedge on the 319-yard, par-4 17th and made his 15-foot putt. He birdied both par-5s on his second nine, but came away a bit disappointed after missing a 5-foot eagle putt on No. 6. "I took care of the par 5s today and drove it nicely, kept it in the fairway, kept it in play," Perry said. "Like I said yesterday, if I hit it in the fairway, I really like my chances on this golf course." Lehman, the 2012 Champions Tour points and money leader, overcame a bogey on No. 8 with three birdies on the back nine -- none bigger than the one on 18. His second shot came to rest in thick grass to the right of the green. He used an 8-iron for his chip and watched it roll downhill slowly into the cup for what ranked as the shot of the day. "The lie was a little bit squirrely," Lehman said. "The grass was growing against the ball so its easy to kind of not catch it cleanly. I took less loft and kind of hit it a little bit thin. Once it gets out on the green, its going to get down there." Chien Soon Lu, Peter Senior, Rocco Mediate and 2010 champion Bernhard Langer shots 68s. Colin Montgomerie, who turned 50 last month and is playing in his second senior event, was in a pack that was two shots behind. Defending champion Roger Chapman struggled with his putter and was seven shots behind after a 74. Tom Watson, who played with Langer and Montgomerie and drew the largest galleries of the day, struggled with his irons while shooting a 70 that included one birdie and one bogey. "I hit a few good shots today, but for the most part, my shots werent very solid," Watson said. "One good thing about it was that I got about the best score I possibly could out of my round." Fred Couples, coming off three straight runner-up finishes on the Champions Tour, had a 1-over 71. Couples, like others, had difficulty figuring out the speed of the greens. The recent heat wave has put stress on them, and warmer temperatures are forecast this weekend. "Theyre suffering," Lehman said. "And theres differing kinds of grass. Thats probably the biggest thing. Its not 100 per cent pure. So the heat affects them each differently, which is why you see that spotty stuff. That kind of makes the putts really not quite as true as you would hope for." Pink Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31 . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. Black Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 33 . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. http://www.cheapairmaxzoom.com/ . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. Orange Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 34 .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. Grey Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 31 . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. Zach Merrett, who at age 20 will serve as stand-in skipper of Essendon this weekend, is backing Dyson Heppell to captain the AFL club in 2017.Brendon Goddard is leading the Bombers because 12 of their players, including captain Jobe Watson, were given doping bans at the start of the year.Goddard suffered a groin injury last weekend and will miss his first game of the season on Sunday, when the Bombers host Gold Coast at Etihad Stadium.Coach John Worsfold opted to look to the future when picking Goddards replacement, asking the midfielder with 56 games experience to step up.A more-challenging question for Worsfold will come during the off-season, when he settles on a leadership group for next year.Watson is among the five banned Bombers yet to indicate whether they will return to the club.Even if Watson doesnt retire, there is a good chance Heppell will be given the gig.Its definitely something to aspire to but I think Dyson is probably the man for next year, Merrett said on Thursday.Hes been fantastic for this footy club.Dyson did his apprenticeship last year and I think hes ready to go.Merrett will be 20 years and 316 days old on Sunday when he tosses the coin, making him the third-yooungest man to captain Essendon in VFL-AFL history.ddddddddddddBernie Quinlan holds the overall league record, having been 20 years and nine days when he was stand-in skipper of Footscray in round 18 of the 1971 season.Merrett plans to pick the brains of Heppell and Goddard, while mentor Chris Judd has also been a sounding board.Hes probably got a bit annoyed sometimes with the number of questions Ive asked, Merrett said of Judd.(Judds leadership advice was) to be myself. Be authentic and lead the way I normally lead. Not much is going to change.Its very exciting ... a very good opportunity.No other 20-year-old except for (Western Bulldog Marcus) Bontempelli, in the last probably five or 10 years, has had this opportunity.Meanwhile, Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell suggested the club would be willing to trade Michael Hurley but they expected the in-demand banned defender to recommit.Hurls is very close with his teammates; (there is a) strong association with that group. Theyve been through a very-challenging period together, Campbell told SEN radio. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '