Cameron Beckman leads after first round of Hoag Classic in Newport Beach

The rain that could have interfered with the first round of the Hoag Classic golf tournament cleared out before the start of play Friday morning.

Who will reign over the rest of the field, though, remained largely unclear after the opening 18 holes of play at Newport Beach Country Club.

Eight golfers are within three strokes of leader Cameron Beckman at the PGA Tour Champions event. Beckman fired a seven-under-par round of 64 on Friday.

Stephen Dodd and Bernhard Langer, the 2008 tournament champion, are tied for second a stroke back at six-under. Ernie Els, Jeff Maggert and Darren Clarke all sit at five-under, two strokes back.

Els is the defending champion from 2020; the tournament was canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Beckman, who has one PGA Tour Champions win at last year’s Dick’s Sporting Goods Open, was at or near the top for much of his round. It featured six birdies, one eagle and one bogey.

“It was nice, real nice,” said Beckman, 52, who lives in San Antonio. “I got off to such a good start, birdieing the first three. On this golf course, you’ve got to be so patient, so I was able to just be super patient. I made a couple of nice, long putts, and the eagle on the last hole was great.”

Beckman, who said he’s enjoying his first visit to Newport Beach, hit a four-iron for his second shot on No. 18 onto the green from about 217 yards. That gave him a manageable eagle putt on the par-five final hole, which he made to jump up in the standings.

“One of the beautiful things about this course is that it’s pretty forgiving off the tee, but you’ve got to know what you’re doing on the greens and land in the proper spots,” Beckman said. “If you can get in some places where you can try to get it up and down, I just love that type of golf.”

Langer, a World Golf Hall of Fame member who has 42 PGA Tour Champions victories, heated up on the back nine. He had three straight birdies at holes Nos. 11 through 13, also birdieing 15 before his first bogey of the round on the following hole.

He then missed a birdie putt to the right on No. 18 that would have earned him a share of the lead and allowed Langer, 64, to shoot his age.

“I love coming back here,” he said. “Usually we have very nice weather here and good conditions and it’s a great old traditional golf course ... [the par-fives are] reachable for most of the guys, maybe not always for me because I’m one of the shorter [distance] guys out here now, I think. I just have to wedge it well and have a good short game to make up for it.”

Dodd, from Wales, said he’s been on the mend from a rib injury he suffered getting out of the bathtub in early December. His round included five birdies and an eagle at the par-five No. 15.

“My short game was good today, which obviously helps around here,” he said. “It’s tricky. The wind was quite difficult at times, but the short game helped me a lot today.”

Rocco Mediate, Scott Parel and David Toms are all three shots back at four-under-par.

Local favorite Fred Couples, a two-time Hoag Classic winner, withdrew prior to the start of the tournament due to a back injury.

Play continues with the second round Saturday. No rain is in the forecast, but windy conditions are expected, with a high temperature in the upper 50s.

Round 2 tee times run from 9:10 a.m. through 11:10 a.m.

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