Groton — Dave Jones of Norwich stood tied atop the leaderboard through the first round of the 33rd Connecticut Senior Open at Shennecossett Golf Course in Groton.

Jones, who plays out of Mohegan Sun Golf Club in Baltic, fired a 4-under-par 67 Monday. He shares the lead with Paul Ryiz of Shelton, James Becker of Bloomfield and Ken Green of New Fairfield.

His round included one bogey, 12 pars and five birdies. Starting on No. 5, he birdied five of eight holes to move into contention.

The final round tees off today.

Jones, a 53-year-old amateur, is shooting for his first Connecticut Senior Open title.

Eight golfers turned in sub-par rounds on Monday. Defending champion Jerry Courville of Stratford is three shots off the lead at 1-under 70. He's locked in a four-way tie for fifth place. Last year's runner-up John Elliott of Westerly shot a 1-over 72.

The low 72 players plus ties advanced to the second round. The cut line was 77, or better. Several locals survived, including Bill Hermanson of East Lyme (74), Chris Hedden of Waterford (77), Thomas Ward of New London (77) and Mark Toscano of Westerly (77).