Montgomerie is happy to survive the wind at the Senior Players Championship

Colin Montgomerie was filled with love Thursday for the Wissahickon course of the Philadelphia Cricket Club after opening the Constellation Senior Players Championship with an even-par 70 in gusty winds.

"It's so much of a challenge where par every hole means something," he said. "It feels good. It feels great. I love it because this is what majors should be. You should feel like it's a major, and it is. Love it . . . absolutely love it."

Montgomerie, who finished as runnerup five times in major championships before he reached the PGA Tour Champions, showed the type of steady play that has been his trademark - two birdies, two bogeys and 14 pars, hitting 11 fairways and 14 greens. He's excited about what the next three days might bring.

"I think it's terrific," he said. "I think this is marvelous. This is a real major. This has a major feel to it. You could put these greens on any course worldwide, and everyone would be thrilled with them. This is super. I'm really excited about this."

Joe Daley, a former caddie and junior member at the Cricket Club, finally got to play a professional competitive round and delighted his followers in the gallery with two early birdies before some late problems contributed to his score of 74.

"I hit a lot of good shots," Daley said. "It played tough. It played very tough. You had to play the wind on the tee shot. You had to play the wind on the second shot.

"The wind is affecting everything. The scores are reflecting that. Even-par is pretty good, 2-under is really good. It just goes to show that the golf course is as good as it is. I'm just thankful it rained [Wednesday]. If it hadn't rained, oh my God, that could get out of control."

Daley birdied the fourth and sixth holes to stand at 2-under early. He was followed by two of his sisters, his brother-in-law and a few friends.

"I'm just happy to be here," he said. "I'm lucky to be out here playing with these guys. They've been kicking my butt for a lot of years, but I still go out and play."

The course played to a stroke average of 73.693, with nine rounds of par or below produced by the field of 81 players. The par-3 eighth hole (No. 15 for Cricket Club members) was the most difficult hole playing .519 strokes over par. The par-4 second hole (No. 9 for members) played as the easiest, at 3.815. A total of four holes averaged under par.