AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am: First-Round Notebook  PGA TOUR Media Official PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Two-time AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am champion Phil Mickelson (1998, 2005) eagled his final hole of the day on Thursday to grab a share of the first-round lead. The last time Mickelson led the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was in 2005, where he won in wire-to-wire fashion.  Fresno native Nick Watney shares the first-round lead not too far from home. (Marc Feldman/WireImage)
• Fresno resident Nick Watney (PH) shot a 65 to finish tied for the lead with John Mallinger and Phil Mickelson. Watney also tied 2006 Q-School medalist George McNeil for the best longest streak of par-or better rounds with 14. • This is the third time Watney has held or shared a lead on the PGA TOUR. The last time Watney led was at the 2006 Chrysler Classic of Greensboro where he finished T6. Watney finished T7 at last year's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. • John Mallinger (PB) shot a bogey-free 65 to share the lead with Nick Watney and Phil Mickelson. This is the first time the Escondido, Calif., native has held or shared a lead on the PGA TOUR. The 65 is Mallinger's career-low round on the PGA TOUR. • The last time three players shared the 18-hole lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was in 2000, when Vijay Singh, David Duval and Notah Begay each shot 66s. • Arjun Atwal (PB), making his first start of the 2007 PGA TOUR season, shot a 5-under 67 and sits T4. Atwal's best finish in this event is a T16 in 2005. His five straight birdies on holes 3 through 7 equals the best birdie streak for the2007 PGA TOUR season. Atwal has partial status after finishing No. 140 on the 2006 TOUR money list. • There were two players who shot bogey-free rounds on Thursday, co-leaders John Mallinger (PB) and Phil Mickelson (PH). Only 57 of the 179 players in the field were able to break par on Thursday. • Tom Lehman (PH) hit 94 percent (17 of 18) of his greens in regulation, placing him first in that category for the field during round one. • Preferred lies through the green are in effect for the first three rounds on all three courses. • Fred Couples withdrew before his round due to injury. For the Pro-Am portion of the tournament with amateur Brian Storms, Couples was replaced by Adam Machala IV, the head golf professional at Somerset Hills Country Club in Bernardsville, N.J. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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