The crazy winds that have buffeted the Front Range this week have been annoying to most, but consider the lot of the players at the Senior PGA Championship in Parker. The wind gusts didn’t prevent everybody from playing a good round in the tournament’s first day yesterday, as a peek at the leaderboard shows Robin Freeman and Bernhard Langer tied for first place at six under par.

“I’m glad that I got my round, a good round, in this morning,” Highlands Ranch pro Bill Loeffler tells The Denver Post. Loeffler wound up three under par at the end of his round, good enough to tie for fourth place. “If I would have shot a 75 or something, then I’m looking at starting at 12:50 (today) with possibly 40-mile-an-hour winds.”

The Post reports that gusts at the Colorado Golf Club blew consistently above 20 miles an hour after lunch.

The Denver Daily News says that co-leader Freeman knows how to battle a windy golf course since he grew up in Oklahoma. The players have a huge incentive to endure the elements: The Post reports the winner of the three-day event will take home a check for $360,000, and every player finishing in the top 70 will get a check for at least $3,725.