Owings Mills, Md. ? Twelve holes into his first U.S. Senior Open, R.W. Eaks was thinking about shooting a 59.

Eaks, who has never won a PGA event of any kind, settled for a 7-under-par 64, which tied the tournament record and gave him a three-shot lead over Tom Watson after Thursday’s opening round.

“I’m kind of disappointed I didn’t shoot a 63, actually,” said Eaks, who had an eagle, eight birdies and three bogeys on a difficult Caves Valley course that yielded only nine sub-par rounds on a sweltering day.

Play was suspended for the day by lightning with 33 players left on the course.

Watson shot a bogey-free 67, one shot better than James Mason and Jose Maria Carnizares. Isao Aoki, Fred Gibson and Jim Ahern carded 69s.

“Playing here in the Senior Open, it gets my juices flowing. I love it,” said Watson, a two-time Masters and U.S. Open champion. “I just hope to continue to play well here.”

Arnold Palmer thrilled the crowd by opening with six straight pars. He then made a double-bogey and a quadruple-bogey and staggered to an 82.