Del Webb Father/Son Challenge: First-Round Notebook  PGA TOUR Staff CHAMPIONSGATE, Fla. -- With an opening-round 12-under-par 60, Team Nelson (Larry and son Josh) enjoyed their best round together in their six trips to the Del Webb Father/Son Challenge. Behind a back-nine 27 that began with three straight birdies and ended with an eagle-par-eagle finish, and the improved play of Josh -- who his father said is playing the best golf he's ever played coming in -- Team Nelson took the first-round lead.  Arnold Palmer and grandson Sam Saunders are tied for third after an opening 62. (Ebenhack/AP)
It was the first time Team Nelson seized the top spot on the leaderboard since Larry and Drew Nelson opened with a 60, closed with a 59 and captured the 2004 Del Webb Father/Son Challenge. The 60 was the 23rd carded in event history. The 36-hole PGA TOUR/Champions Tour event concludes on Sunday. Teams play a scramble format. • YES, WE HAVE RECORDS TO TIE: The 61 posted by David Duval and Deano Karavites ties the best opening score by an event rookie. Duval and Karavites join Bob and Kevin Tway (2006) and Raymond and Robert Floyd (1998) as the only teams to debut with 61s. • 59TH STREET BRIDGE TO THE LEAD? NOT TODAY: For the first time since Team Nelson opened with that 60 three years ago, nobody carded an opening-round 59. Opening in the 50s was generally bad luck until two-time defending champions Team Langer (Bernhard and Stefan) rode first-round 59s into Del Webb Father/Son Challenge titles. • PERFECT ATTENDANCE: Making their 13th appearance in the Del Webb Father/Son Challenge are Hale and Steve Irwin, who have played in every event. The 2003 champions, who finished fifth in 2006 after a final-round 59, are the leading money-winning individual team in the Del Webb Father/Son Challenge with $895,700. Also keeping their perfect attendance records are Ray Floyd, Larry Nelson and Lee Trevino, who alternate their playing partners between their sons each year. Floyd, who is playing with son Robert this year, has combined with Ray and Robert to win five titles and $1,255,633.34, making them the leading money winning family. Nelson, who is playing with son Josh this year, is third on the overall money list with a combined $749,166.67. In 2004, they captured their first Del Webb Father/Son Challenge. • GLAD TO HAVE YOU: New to the field are the teams of David Duval and stepson Deano Karavites and Tom and Thomas Lehman. Both earned their way into the field by winning the British Open; Lehman in 1996 and Duval in 2001. And the Duval/Karavites tandem made an auspicious debut, carding an opening-round 11-under-par 61 that will put them in Sunday's final group. • WELCOME BACK, WE MISSED YOU: Returning to the Del Webb Father/Son Challenge is the only daughter to play in the event: Gretchen Zoeller. The former College of Charleston golf standout and current public relations director for an Indianapolis hospital is playing with father Fuzzy Zoeller, the 1979 Masters and 1984 U.S. Open champion. After an opening-round, event-best 7-under 65, Team Zoeller figures to improve on its 18th-place finish two years ago, when it was a combined 7 under for two rounds. • MOBILIZE ARNIE'S ARMY: Yes, the draft notices went out for Arnie's Army, after Arnold Palmer and grandson Sam Saunders appeared on the upper reaches of the leaderboard. Playing in the event for the fifth consecutive year, Palmer and Saunders posted a career-best 10-under 62 that puts them in a tie for third. • YES, WE MISSED YOU TOO: Returning after an eight-year absence is Gary Nicklaus, who recently regained his amateur standing. The last time we saw Gary Nicklaus playing with his immortal father, Jack, they were winning the 1999 Del Webb Father/Son Challenge with rounds of 60-59 -- 119. Because Gary earned his PGA TOUR card the following year, this version of Team Nicklaus didn't have the chance to defend. Instead, Jack tabbed oldest son Jackie for the 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006 events. This time out, Team Nicklaus opened with a 6-under 66. • IT'S A TOUGH TRIPLE: It's no secret that the Del Webb Father/Son Challenge is one of the hardest tournaments to get into; fathers have to own a major championship and even that doesn't guarantee you a golden ticket into the 18-team field. But if there's one thing harder than getting into the prestigious event, it's defending a title. Only two teams: Team Floyd and Team Langer can boast back-to-back Willie Park Trophy belts, with the Floyds winning the first three events (1995-97) and in 2000-2001, and the Langers winning the last two (2005-06). And it appears to be a tough trek for the three-peat for the Langers, who find themselves in a tie for ninth after an opening 8-under 64. • HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEE: Lee Trevino celebrated his 68th birthday Saturday, making him the third-oldest player in the Del Webb Father/Son Challenge field, behind Palmer (78) and Billy Casper (76). |
