Players love Glenview's course for Encompass Championship

An oldie remains a goody.

Ask the older guys.

"I love the old designers," Lee Janzen said of North Shore Country Club after shooting 7-under par in the opening round of the Encompass Championship in sunny Glenview on Friday. "A lot of the routing and the bunkering I'm sure is pretty similar to what it was in the beginning. The greens have probably shrunk a bit from the original design. It will be interesting if they do any enhancements to the course. If they take the greens back to their original size, it would be really cool to see."

One of the youngest players on the Champions Tour, Janzen, who turns 51 next month, has a share of the lead with Brad Bryant, Fred Funk and David Frost heading into Round 2 after showing off some of the form that helped him win a pair of U.S. Opens in the 1990s. Janzen was one of the first players to tee off and took advantage of the ideal conditions, which included little wind and lots of sunshine throughout the day.

"He played beautifully," Rocco Mediate, who shot a 5-under 67, said of his playing partner, Janzen. "I played pretty good. We drove it good. You've got to drive good around here. You can't play dead around here. It's such a good driving course."

Janzen soared to the top of the leader board by sinking 8 birdie putts on the private course, which officially opened in 1924 and in 1933 hosted the U.S. Open. Legendary English architect Harry Colt designed the course.

Bryant's 8-birdie day surprised him.

"I did not expect too much, warming up," the 60-year-old native of Texas said. "I figured something out at the end of my warm-up session, and on the golf course I hit it great. It came out of nowhere. It sort of felt like the old Brad today."

The 65s shot by Janzen, Bryant, Funk and Frost were one shot off Russ Cochrane's course record set last year in the final round of the Encompass. Four players, including Craig Stadler and Funk playing-partner Mike Goodes, are tied for second at one stroke back. The group at 5-under also includes Jeff Sluman, who missed a par putt from inside 3 feet on his final hole (No. 9).

Funk, whose 7 birdies included him holing out from a green-side bunker on No. 5, fired his best round since the start of the 2014 season. He took three months off this year while dealing with an injury to his left elbow.

"It's pretty aggravated," the 59-year-old Funk said. "I'm just pleased to be able to play. They pretty much said when I hurt it in Boca (Raton, Fla.) that I was done for the year."

This is the third and final year of the Encompass at North Shore. And the players will miss it.

"It's a great, great spot and it's on a beautiful course," said Fred Couples, who shot a 4-under 68 and is tied for 13th. "It would be nice if (the tournament) stayed right here."

"Wish we were coming back," Mediate said. "One of my favorite courses we play. I wouldn't think anyone else would say different. It's just a good, old-school, right-in-front-of-you, drive-it-straight golf course."

Defending champ Tom Lehman shot a 1-under 71 and is tied for 43rd in the 81-player field. Like Couples, Jeff Maggert, whose U.S. Senior Open championship was the second major he's won this year, is at 4-under. Only 21 golfers carded rounds over par.

"The course is perfect," Couples said. "It was playing, I guess, easy."

"There was very little wind," Funk said, "and (the course) is soft, so you can shoot it up."