EDMOND, Okla. -- Colin Montgomerie declared Bernhard Langer the favourite heading into the U.S. Senior Open. After 18 holes, Montgomerie may well have seized that position himself with a 6-under 65 to lead at the end of Thursday at Oak Tree National. The Scotsman started on No. 10 and birdied Nos. 14, 15 and 16 on the way to a 33 on the back nine. He birdied six, seven and eight to finish strong in oppressive heat and humidity. "That was the key to the round, the three birdies in a row on the front nine, my back nine," Montgomerie said. "To birdie six, seven, eight was good. That got me to the position I am now." Marco Dawson was second after a 66, and Mark Brooks was third after shooting 68. Langer was one of five golfers tied for fourth with a 69. Dawson, in his first Senior Open, started on the back nine and shot 2 under, then was steady on the front nine before scoring birdies on seven, eight and nine. The 50-year-old said it was one of the two best rounds hes played in his six Champions Tour events. He was pleased with the performance, especially considering the courses challenging reputation. "It just seemed to happen, you know, birdie, birdie, birdie the last three holes, so I ended up 5 under," he said. "I could have shot 2 under and still would have been a good round." Brooks birdied the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th holes to go 4 under on his first five holes. He shot 3 under on the back nine and even on the front nine. "Ive been playing here since high school," he said. "Im comfortable here. My mother and father both are Oklahomans, so I got a lot of Oklahoma blood in me." Langer, who entered the Senior Open having already won three events this year, was in a five-way tie for fourth along with Vijay Singh, Kirk Triplett, Scott Dunlap and Gene Sauers. "They say you dont win a tournament on the first day," Langer said. "You can certainly lose it with a bad round, so, you know, Im somewhere in the top 10 or top 20 after today, which is a good spot to be. Still have three rounds to go." Kenny Perry, last years Senior Open winner, shot a 75. Mother Nature was a factor for various reasons. Play was delayed for 77 minutes at the start due to the threat of lightning, and play was suspended because of darkness at 8:54 p.m. CDT, with three players still on the course. Wilting 90-plus degree heat with humidity hit in the afternoon. Darrell Kestner completed 14 holes Thursday before withdrawing and being treated for a heat-related issue. Peter Jacobsen, who withdrew from last years Senior Open in Omaha after nine holes because of dehydration, made it through the opening day in Edmond. He shot a 1-under 70, then held a sports drink as he answered questions. "I learned a really good lesson," he said. "My doctor told me, Dont ever get dehydrated because its very debilitating on your body. I walk around with water and Gatorade and lot of liquid, especially here when we know its going to be humid and hot." Heavy rains Wednesday softened the course, but the heat Thursday made it hard later in the day. Changing winds added another degree of difficulty to an already long, tough course. "It is kind of difficult to judge the wind out here," Montgomerie said. "Youre always going to get breeze out here in Oklahoma. Thats part of the test out here." Weather is expected to remain a factor through the rest of the tournament, with temperatures expected to soar. Montgomerie said it will amount to a physical examination. "Its going to be grueling over the next three days," he said. "Concentration levels will be difficult to maintain for everybody out there, not just myself. I look forward to the challenge of trying to compete against the rest of the field, the golf course, which is superb, and also the weather conditions, which are very foreign to myself and most competitors, to be honest. We dont usually play in 100 degrees. Its going to be interesting over the next three days." Luke Glendening Jersey . It was considered unlikely that Rielly would be loaned to Canada for the tournament, which begins Dec. 26 in Malmo, Sweden, though a stretch of three straight games in the press box made it something of a debate. Terry Sawchuk Red Wings Jersey . Brazilian striker Brandao opened the scoring with a header in the 55th minute before winger Franck Tabanou volleyed home from close range to double the lead in the 61st. http://www.redwingshockeyauthentic.com/t...ertuzzi-jersey/. The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. Luke Glendening Red Wings Jersey . -- Canadas Milos Raonic defeated Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France on Saturday to advance to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open. Justin Abdelkader Jersey . -- Among the 31 players at the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp, none feels closer to cracking the NHL roster than right winger Aaron Palushaj.The Oakland As continue at the top of the TSN.ca MLB Power Rankings, ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays and San Franscisco Giants as the top three remains the same for the second straight week. Making a move up, due to outstanding starting pitching (1.24 starters ERA in June), the Washington Nationals have jumped from 13 to seven. This weeks big move was by the Cleveland Indians, who rocket from 23 to 13, after going 9-1 in the past 10 games, including a 17-run explosion against Texas Monday. Even though the Cincinnati Reds continue to struggle, they move up from 19 to 14, largely on news that first baseman Joey Votto has been activated from the disabled list. A 5-2 record in the past seven games was enough to vault the Arizona Diamondbacks out of the basement, up to 24 from 30.dddddddddddd Heading the wrong way, the Chicago White Sox fall from 10 to 16,as they continue to seek answers behind Chris Sale in the starting rotation. The New York Mets, losers of six straight, drop from 15 to 21. Injuries and subpar pitching have caught up to the Colorado Rockies, who are 3-14 in the past 17 games and plummet from 14 to 25 this week. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '