Ironman Peter Lonard is not afraid to play six weeks in a row.
"I'm a big boy. I should be able to make it," the Sydneysider said after a four-under-par 66 that left him, along with compatriots Mark Hensby and John Senden, three strokes from the first round lead at the Wyndham Championship here today.
"Ten years ago, everyone played 10 in a row without blinking an eyelid. Six in a row is not that big a deal."
While most of the big guns are having a week off after the US PGA Championship, this is Lonard's third tournament in a planned six-week stretch.
He was equal sixth at the Bridgestone Invitational a fortnight ago, but a disappointing equal 68th at the PGA Championship, so it was nice to bounce back in ideal conditions at Sedgefield.
Lonard, a nine-time winner in Australia, wasn't happy with his driving, striking several errant tee shots, but he took advantage of the ones he hit straight.
"I've been driving it good the last couple of weeks, but today I hit it all over the joint," he said.
"When I hit the fairway I hit it close, and that's where my birdies came from. This is a course where you can get it on the green from not hitting the fairway."
Lonard said that mediocre putting prevented him from a decent result at the PGA.
"I just didn't hole any putts," he said.
"It doesn't matter how good you hit it, you've got to hole the odd 10-footer to keep your momentum going, and I just didn't hole any of them. It's not like I missed one or two. I missed all of them."
Hensby, meanwhile, enjoyed a rare good day of late.
He has endured a difficult season while working on a swing change.
Since finishing equal fourth at the Byron Nelson Championship in April, he has missed the cut in seven out of eight starts.
"The key for me is getting it in the fairway off the tee," he said.
"I haven't been doing that all year and today I did.
"It doesn't matter how much you work at (changing your swing), it seems you want to go back to your old stuff. It's been a pretty big change for me, trying to get some different things firing at different times."
Scotsman Martin Laird and American Bob Heintz set the pace at seven-under 63 on a day when the field averaged less than 69 strokes in the benign conditions.