Five tied for first-round lead at Showdown at Somerby  PGA TOUR Staff BYRON, Minn. -- Jeff Wood birdied six of his last seven holes late in the day to move into a five-way tie for the lead with Mark Turnesa, Tim O'Neal, Jay Delsing and Pat Bates at 7-under-par at the Rochester Area Charities Showdown at Somerby presented by Think.  Jeff Wood
Turnesa has enjoyed a successful start to his Nationwide Tour rookie season. The 29-year-old started the year with a T5 at the Movistar Panama Championship and has finished in the top 15 in three of his last four events, including a T5 at last week's Rex Hospital Open. "I played great today. I didn't miss a fairway, made seven birdies and zero bogeys," Turnesa said. "I'm very happy with where I stand, but it doesn't matter who is leading on Thursday. All that matters is who is leading on Sunday." Turnesa comes from a long line of golfers. His great-uncle Jim won the 1952 PGA Championship. His grandfather Mike was a six-time winner on the PGA TOUR and finished runner-up to Ben Hogan at the 1948 PGA Championship. Mike was one of seven brothers, six of whom played on TOUR. One of those, Joe, was a 15-time winner on the PGA TOUR. "It's nice to be a part of that kind of history," Turnesa said. "My family is great. I grew up with golf, but there aren't heavy expectations. They are proud of the way I have been playing, but they also understand how tough this game is and are supportive when things don't go my way." O'Neal started his round on the 10th hole with back-to-back birdies and finished the day with seven birdies, two bogeys, and an eagle. Somerby Golf Club has been good to O'Neal - he finished T3 at last year's tournament. The 33-year-old former Georgia State Amateur champion missed making it to the PGA TOUR by one stroke at the 2004 PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament. Bates, who turned professional in 1991, has been a member on the Nationwide Tour in 1994, 1996-2001 and 2005-2006, while playing on the PGA TOUR in 1995 and 2002-2004. The University of Florida graduate has won five times on the Nationwide Tour, including three times in 2001 to give him a three-win promotion to the PGA TOUR. Lately, things have not gone as well for Bates; he made just three cuts on the Nationwide Tour in 2006 and is playing in only his third event on 2007. "I hit everything really well today," he said after a bogey-free round of his own. "The fairways are generous and the course is in fabulous shape. You can make a lot of putts on these greens." Wood made his first cut of his Nationwide Tour career at last week's Rex Hospital Open and finished T23. By finishing inside the top 25, he earned a spot in this week's field. The 6'5", 235-pounder from Sacramento, Calif., is playing in just his sixth career Nationwide Tour event with conditional status on Tour this season. "I started rolling the ball really well," Wood said. "My ball just kind of had eyes coming in. I had the wrong read on my 17th hole and the ball still went in. It's nice to have the opportunity to get some starts and relax and play well out here." NCAA Champion and sponsor's exemption Jamie Lovemark shot a 4-under-par 68 to finish the first round at T12. Playing in his second PGA TOUR sanctioned event as an amateur, the freshman at University of Southern California hit 13 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens in regulation. He finished the day ranked No. 1 in Total Driving, T1 in Greens in Regulation and No. 1 in Ball Striking. "There are a ton of shots I left out there. I hit the ball pretty much the best I have all year but I putted almost as bad as I have all year," he said. "The first hole I was a little bit nervous but got over it after my tee shot. It was a tough opening shot but after that I was pretty calm. I had a great pairing and had a lot of fun out there with these guys." Brad Elder, Tommy Tolles, Chris Anderson are at 6-under, one stroke off the lead. News & Notes: Marc Turnesa, Pat Bates, Chris Anderson, Jim McGovern, Scott Sterling, Blake Adams and Brent Delahoussaye shot bogey-free rounds.... Gary Christian recorded a hole-in-one at the par 3 17th hole. Christian hit a 7-iron from 150 yards. Also recording a hole-in-one was John Morse on the 191-yard par 3 13th hole.... Kenneth Staton eagled the par-4 third hole with a sand wedge from the fairway from 105 yards out.... Delsing was a college teammate of Corey Pavin, Duffy Waldorf, Tom Pernice Jr. and Steve Pate at UCLA. |
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network