Rookies experience good, bad and ugly in opening round

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KAPALUA, Hawaii -- The Mercedes-Benz Championship hasn't been particularly charitable to first-time participants. Just ask Brandt Snedeker, who needed only one round to feel slightly snake-bit.

Brandt Snedeker had hard luck despite a fine first round on Thursday. (WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

First-timers inside the top 10 after round 1 of the Mercedes-Benz Championship

Pos. Player Par 1. Nick Watney -5 2. Daniel Chopra -4 T3. Angel Cabrera -3 T6. Brandt Snedeker -2

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Only once in the 10 years that the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort has been hosting this winners-only affair has a debutante walked away with the title. That was Sergio Garcia in 2002. In the last 20 at this prestigious season-opener, only two men have triumphed in their first attempt. Steve Jones is the other with his '89 victory.

So there was Snedeker, the 2007 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, cruising along at 5 under par Thursday at the Plantation Course when he reached the long par-4 17th hole. His drive was well struck, but sailed way left, missing the inordinately wide fairway. Poor swing? Not from the tournament leader. The face of his Taylor-Made driver had cracked.

Snedeker suffered a double-bogey. And then, having to play the 663-yard par-5 18th with a 3-wood off the tee, he made a bogey. His round of 2-under 71 left him in a tie for sixth, but it didn't leave him feeling morose.

"I've had that driver for a long time, and I guess finally it had too much and cracked on me, and the ball ended up going 180 yards right in the middle of the water," Snedeker, who arrived on Maui battling lingering effects of the flu, said. "I thought I hit a great drive. But that happens. Unfortunately it happened at a bad time, and 18 was no fun playing a 660 yard par 5 with 3 wood off the tee. No complaints, though. That's going to happen. I'm glad it happened today and it didn't happen on Sunday."

Snedeker's bad luck paved the way for another first-timer, Nick Watney, to grab the first-round lead with a 5-under 68. Daniel Chopra shot 69 for second place while U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera pounded out a 70. Including Snedeker, four of the first seven players on the leaderboard after the first round were just getting broken in at the Plantation Course.

"I'm very happy with it. It's got to be decent," Watney said. "These guys are everybody that's won is here, or most of the guys that have won are playing here. I'm very pleased, but at the same time it's the first day of the first tournament of the year, so we've got a long ways to go."

Good point. Last year, Will Mackenzie and Brett Wetterich had a share of the first-round leader after 18 holes but gave way to veteran Vijay Singh by Sunday evening.

The Plantation Course is one of the most challenging layouts TOUR players encounter all year. Its combination of wind and slope make club selection difficult. The grain on the greens add an extra challenge when trying to score. Singh says local knowledge played a huge role in his victory a year ago.

Joe Ogilvie, who opened with a 75 in his first trip around, agrees.

"It's a very unique place," Ogilvie said. "You have to make a lot of adjustments to your game with the severe lies, the wind ... it all takes a lot of getting used to."

And if you don't strike the ball well, the Plantation Course will expose your weaknesses. So found out Boo Weekley, who stumbled in with a 7-over-par 80. Only Paul Goydos, making his second appearance in the tournament of champions -- but his first at Kapalua -- shot a higher score, carding 81.

Weekley, who was delayed by airport security on the way to Maui because he inadvertently left a couple of bullets from one of his hunting trips in a carry-on bag, didn't have much ammunition for Kapalua's signature layout. "I didn't drive it well and I could putt. It was just a crappy round," Weekley said with a tight grin. "I'd like to blame it on the wind or the rain or whatever, but it was just me. I can do better. It was only my first real round here."

Right, and it's four rounds that matter.