U.S. Bank Championship: Round 1 Notebook
 
Jul. 19, 2007

• PGA TOUR rookie Brendon de Jonge made an eagle-2 at the 417-yard, 2nd hole on Thursday, holing his second shot from 94 yards. It is just the fourth eagle at that hole since the tournament moved to Brown Deer Park in 1994. Brad Elder (2000), Russ Cochran (2000) and J. L. Lewis (2005) are the others to make a two at that hole.

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Brendon de Jonge (WIreImage)

Jeff Maggert had an eagle-3 at the par-5, 15th hole, droping a putt of 10 feet, 11 inches. In the previous 13 years at Brown Deer Park, only two tournament winners have eagled that hole and both came in the opening round. Jeff Sluman did it in 2002 and Ben Crane did it in 2005.

• Jeff Maggert shot a 7-under-par 63 in his first career start at Brown Deer Park. Maggert's only other start in Milwaukee came in 1991 when he finished fourth at Tuckaway Country Club, four shots back of winner Mark Brooks. Maggert opened with consecutive 65s and was 14-under par at the halfway point -- three back of leader Robert Gamez (61-66/17-under).

• Jeff Maggert's 63 is his lowest score since he posted a identical 63 in the first round of the 2005 Valero Texas Open (par 70). Maggert's 7-under par total is his best of the year (vs. par) and his best since an 8-under 64 in the final round of the 2006 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

• Rookie Brendon de Jonge shot a career-best, 7-under 63 to tie for the morning lead with Jeff Maggert. The former Virginia Tech star has made only four cuts in his 15 starts this year. He had never played in a PGA TOUR event prior to this season. He tied for ninth at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun, his only top-40 finish to date. de Jonge has missed the cut in nine of his 11 starts since that T9 in Mexico.

• Part of Brendon de Jonge's success on Thursday had to do with improved ball striking, he hit 9 of 13 fairways (69.2%). For the year, his driving accuracy is 52.64% and he ranks No. 187 among TOUR members. He also managed to hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation (T3). For the year, he ranks No. 116 in that category (62.91%).

Jesper Parnevik posted a 4-under 66 in his second visit to Brown Deer Park. Parnevik's only previous start here came in 1996 when he held a one-stroke lead after 54 holes thanks to rounds of 65-66-63. He posted a 72 in the final round and wound up tied for third, one shot out of a playoff won by Loren Roberts (def. Jerry Kelly).

• Robert Gamez is making his 16th start in Milwaukee this week and posted a 5-under-par 65 for his 10th consecutive round at par-or-better at Brown Deer Park. Gamez has made the cut in nine of his previous 15 starts in this event with his best finish a runner-up showing in 1991. Gamez has made the cut here the past five consecutive years.

Garrett Willis, making only his fifth start of the year and the first since the AT&T Classic in Atlanta two months ago, shot a 6-under-par 64 in the morning. The last time Willis posted a score of 6-under par came in the second round of the 2004 Reno-Tahoe Open. His 64 is his best score since a 61 in the second round of the 2002 Valero Texas Open.

Steve Elkington, making his sixth start in this event, posted a 4-under 66 in his morning round. The former PGA Championship winner has made the cut in all five of his Milwaukee starts with a T5 in 2005, his last start here, his best to date. Elkington has made the cut in 12 of 18 starts in 2007 and tied for fifth at the Buick Open three weeks ago.

Jay Williamson, playoff runner-up at the Travelers Championship in Hartford last month, bogeyed the final hole for a 5-under 65 in the first group of the afternoon wave. Williamson shot a final-round 73 at last week's John Deere Classic, ending his streak of consecutive rounds below-par at 12. Williamson is making his eighth career start in Milwaukee. He tied for 22nd in 2004 and shared the first-round lead in 2000 with Kenny Perry.

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Kenny Perry (WireImage)

• Kenny Perry, winner here in 2003, posted a 1-under-par 69. Perry continues his solid play of late -- in his last four starts he has a scoring average of 68.5 and has finished T3, T15, T10 and T11. His 69 today extends his current par-or-better streak to 11 consecutive rounds. Perry tied for 15th last year, ending his streak of six consecutive top-10 finishes in Milwaukee.

• Of the 50 players who broke par in the first round, Brad Faxon and Jarrod Lyle were the only two players who posted a double-bogey during the day. Faxon opened with a double-bogey 6 on the first and played 4-under the rest of the way, finishing with a 2-under 68. Lyle had a double-bogey 6 on the par-4, 13th but birdied the final two holes for a 2-under-par 68.

Ryan Palmer was the only player to reach the green in two at the par-5, 6th hole which played 587 yards today. Palmer wound up 50 feet from the pin and three-putted for par.

• Seventeen-year-old Tony Finau had a difficult debut as a professional. Finau, who shot a course-record 64 in the Monday qualifying, managed to hit only 2 of 13 fairways (T130) and 6 of 18 greens in regulation (131st) en route to a 5-over-par 75. Finau averaged 333.5 yards on two officially-measured drives and 313.5 yards on all 13 of his tee shots to rank No. 1 in that statistical category.

• Scoring conditions proved more difficult during afternoon as NNE winds picked up, with occasional gusts to 29 mph. The morning scoring average was 69.77 while the afternoon scoring average was 1.64 higher at 71.41. Of the top-10 players on the leaderboard, only Jay Williamson played in the afternoon.