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Carnoustie - Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer, who has yet to clinch a Senior title, grabbed a share of the first round lead with a four-under par 67 at the Senior Open on Thursday.
The German was joined at the top of the leaderboard by America's Jay Don Blake and England's Carl Mason.
"I'm very happy with it," said Langer, a former Ryder Cup captain.
"I birdied the very first hole and had some further chances the next few holes, then had a nice run there on seven, eight, nine when I birdied those three - there's a lot of tough holes on the back nine."
Langer, trying to win a first over-50 Major category title, enjoyed a birdie at the first hole and then a hattrick from the seventh to turn in a four under par 32.
He then went level par 35 on the way home.
"I played very well. I kept the ball in play, I drove it pretty good and hit a number of fairways," he said.
Blake turned in 35 before recording three birdies in four holes from the tenth.
"I hit a lot of good shots," said Blake, whose only US PGA Tour victory came 19 years ago.
"I just tried to be patient. It's a golf course that you can't be aggressive because everything runs up to the pin so much that you can't fly it to the flags like we are used to over in the courses we play in America."
Mason, who is looking to win what would be a 24th Senior Tour title, joined Langer and Blake at the top of the leaderboard late in the day.
"If this was the 24th, that would be something special, wouldn't it?" said Mason when asked about the possibility of breaking Tommy Horton's Senior Tour record with a first Major.
"There's a long way to go, and so if I can keep playing as good as I have done today."
Mason came close to winning The Senior Open in 2005 when he lost in a play-off to Tom Watson.
Those one shot further back include 2008 winner Bruce Vaughan, who was joined on three under by American compatriots Mark Wiebe and Dan Forsman.
Former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance, the 2009 Senior Tour Order of Merit winner, is two shots off the pace after a 69, along with the current US Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin.
