Mar. 28, 2008
Larry Mize, Briny Baird, Marco Dawson
Tee time: 7:34 a.m. CT
Tee: No. 1
Total TOUR wins: 4
Why you should watch: Recent Champions Tour rookie Larry Mize not only is the sole possessor of this group's TOUR wins, he's also the only player from Augusta, Ga., to win the Masters, which makes him pretty special. Mize played his way into the field this week with a tie for 10th-place finish in Puerto Rico. He shot 1-over par Thursday, but the tournament is still young. Another Puerto Rico top player, Briny Baird finished tied for fourth at Trump International Golf Course and has carried that momentum over the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans, where he shot 5-under par and closed the first round tied for second. The third member of this group, Marco Dawson, got off to a bumpy start in Thursday's round with two consecutive double bogies on the fifth and sixth holes, but he corrected his game quickly and went on to save his round and finish at 1-under par in a tie for 33rd -- can he use that turnaround to ensure he makes the cut?
| 2008 stat comparison |
| Mize |
3 |
2 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
2 |
70.09 |
| Baird |
9 |
7 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
3 |
70.38 |
| Dawson |
4 |
3 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
2 |
70.10 |
|
Vaughn Taylor, Jay Williamson, Johnson Wagner
Tee time: 11:54 a.m. CT
Tee: No. 1
Total TOUR wins: 2
Why you should watch: Another Augusta native, Vaughn Taylor, had an excellent day for the opening of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans shooting 4 under with only one bogey in the round. He'll tee off the second round tied for fifth place; will he be able to keep up the pace? Taylor is tied in fifth place with none other than group mate Jay Williamson (and others), who shot a bogey-free first round also at4-under par. There's nothing like a little competition in the ranks to fire things up. While the final group member, Johnson Wagner, is not joined in the tie for fifth, he had a fairly steady Thursday -- enough to keep him at 1-under par in a tie for 33rd place. With only one bogey and just two birdies, Johnson's consistent pars kept him out of trouble, but he'll need to make a few more good shots if he wants to make something happen this week.
| 2008 stat comparison |
| Taylor |
8 |
6 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
3 |
70.02 |
| Williamson |
9 |
6 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
71.11 |
| Wagner |
8 |
2 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
72.38 |
|
Woody Austin, Carl Pettersson, Kenny Perry
Tee time: 12:23 p.m. CT
Tee: No. 10
Total TOUR wins: 14
Why you should watch: Woody Austin is always a good one to watch, whether it's good golf or a great character you're looking for. The talented TOUR funnyman played his way into the top 10 of the leaderboard Thursday with a 3-under-par 69, which was enough to earn him a tie for ninth going into the second round. His best finish so far this year was a tie for fifth place at the World Golf Championships -- Accenture Match Play Championship, so he's probably getting hungry for a win after the year he had in '07. Another 1-under par in a tie for 33rd place is Sweden's Carl Pettersson, who -- despite a late double bogey -- managed to play a pretty decent round on Thursday. Pettersson only has one top-10 finish under his belt this year and has missed two cuts, so he'll be trying to take advantage of his respectable start to the Zurich Classic. Veteran of the group, nine-time TOUR winner Kenny Perry is tied with group mate Pettersson in 33rd place after what seemed to be two vastly different nines -- while he consistently parred all the holes on his front nine, he got a little choppy on the back nine with three birdies and two bogies. If he can figure out how to find a happy medium, the 47-year-old might have an interesting weekend ahead.
| 2008 stat comparison |
| Austin |
8 |
7 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
3 |
71.55 |
| Pettersson |
8 |
6 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
5 |
70.18 |
| Perry |
8 |
7 |
-- |
-- |
1 |
1 |
3 |
69.92 |
|
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