LUTZ, Florida -- Loren Roberts opened his bid for a record fourth straight Champions Tour victory with a 2-under 69 in the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am, leaving him four strokes behind leaders Mark McNulty and Bruce Lietzke on Friday.

Roberts, attempting to match Chi Chi Rodriguez's 1987 Tour record of four straight victories, won The ACE Group Classic last week in Naples to become the first player to open a season with three consecutive victories.

In wind and drizzle on Friday at the Tournament Players Club of Tampa Bay course, Roberts had four birdies and two bogeys to finish in a six-man tie for 14th. In nine career starts on the Tour, the 50-year-old Roberts has four victories, eight top-fives and earnings of $1,714,882..

McNulty, who won the 2004 event to become the 11th player to win in his Champions Tour debut, eagled the par-5 12th hole after hitting his second shot to 10 feet. He has struggled this year after winning five times in his first two seasons on the Tour.

"If you come back to a course that you've done well on, it always fits your eyes," McNulty said. "This course fits my eyes. ... I went home last night and said to my wife, `At least I think I'm hitting the ball better."' Lietzke also eagled the 12th, hitting a 6-iron to 8 feet.

"I couldn't put it within 8 feet if I hit it 50 times," Lietzke said. "So happy to make the eagle, but I had to hit that shot to do it.

"This has always been a course I thought I should play well on every time I play here, and I have nothing, nothing but mediocre and bad scores."

Keith Fergus, Dan Pohl, and Gary McCord opened with 67s, and Dave Stockton, Larry Nelson, Tom Kite, John Harris, Jerry Pate, Des Smyth, Bobby Wadkins and Mark Johnson shot 68s.

Hale Irwin, who won last year for the 42nd of his Tour-record 44 titles, matched Roberts with a 69.

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