Warren storms ahead on opening day at FBR Open
By Mark Spoor, PGATOUR.com Coordinating Producer
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- They say that timing is everything. So far in 2008 -- and specifically Thursday at the FBR Open -- that old adage held true for Charles Warren.
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Warren blistered TPC Scottsdale on Thursday, putting up a bogey-free 65. He said the fact that he and playing partner Camilo Villegas had one of the later draws of the morning wave helped each of them post solid rounds.
"I think we kind of got a break," he said. "Being second-to-last off was definitely an advantage. Those first guys, when we were finishing up our warm-up on the range, the wind started blowing and it was really, really cold. Once the sun got up it was fine, but early going it was definitely a challenge to kind of get your body to feel right."
Warren also said Villegas' demeanor makes it easy to play well.
"He's a great draw," Warren said of Villegas. "Camilo is such a nice guy and very complimentary."
And ...?
"I definitely knew that we were going to have -- we would probably have a decent sized gallery following us," he joked. "He seems to bring all the young people out, that's for sure."
Villegas also said he was happy to have Warren on the course with him as he carded a bogey-free 66.
"Obviously. It's always nice to play with somebody that's playing good, try to feed off them and just step your game up a little bit," Villegas said, "We both fed off each other nicely today, and we both had good rounds, not many mistakes. That's what it's all about.
"Charles is a great guy and I've got a good relationship with him and we really chatted a lot during the round," Villegas said.
More than the pairing or the tee time, Warren credits another type of timing, one he's been working with coach Todd Anderson on for a while.
"Really kind of working on the timing of my backswing, getting the club to swing more going back to waist high and then kind of finishing my backswing with my shoulders instead of setting it with my arms and wrists at the top," he explained. "Just kind of working on my timing, that's really it. Just trying to get the ball started a little bit right of the target and drawing it a little bit.
"I definitely didn't drive it as well as I would have liked to have today," he said. "But I definitely hit my irons very well, and I think that's kind of an indication to me that it's on the right track."
The early tee time may have also helped him with dealing with an FBR Open staple -- the rowdy crowds at No. 16.
"You know, they weren't really cranked up yet. I don't know if it's the cold or what," he joked.
But what about Friday, when Warren's tee time is a little bit later?
"They'll be ready to go tomorrow afternoon," he said. "I think it's awesome. We really don't get the opportunity to play on a stage like this very often."
In a way, Warren said playing on No. 16 is the realization of a fantasy.
"Obviously as golfers we're unlike baseball players and football players because they get the crowds and they get to experience that on a daily or weekly basis, whatever the sport may be. I think it's cool. There is no other situation anywhere in the world where you're going to get to hit a shot like you do on 16 and get the reaction you do. I mean, it really is cool, it really is."
At the end of Sunday, Warren also hopes to experience the reaction that PGA TOUR winners get. He has a pretty good idea of what it will take to get it.
"If I can just, like I said, continue," he said. "That's the thing you've got to do in a tournament like this when you know the scores are going to be low is come out here with the same mindset and continue to fire and try to make birdies."
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