John Deere Classic: First-round notebook
By Stewart Moore, PGA TOUR Staff
SILVIS, Ill. -- Ken Duke and Charlie Wi carded rounds of 7-under 64 in the first round of the John Deere Classic on Thursday and hold a one-shot lead over four players heading into Friday's second round.
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• The first round of the John Deere Classic was suspended from 10:51 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 2:55 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. due to dangerous situations (lightning) in the area. This marked the fourth straight PGA TOUR event to have a suspension of play due to a dangerous situation.
• 2006 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year Ken Duke set the early mark on Thursday with a round of 7-under 64 in the morning wave at the John Deere Classic. Duke's season has been up and down after a stellar 2007 campaign in which he finished 45th in the FedExCup standings. In 20 starts thus far in 2008, Duke has missed nine cuts, but has offset those disappointments with a tie for sixth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a tie for fourth at the Buick Open two weeks ago.
• Charlie Wi (64) has been a study of consistency in 2008 with seven top-25 finishes in 12 starts entering the John Deere Classic. Wi is competing in his third full season on the PGA TOUR after recording earnings in excess of $1.1 million in 2007, where his best finish (tie for second) came up the road at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.
• This marks the first 18-hole lead of Ken Duke's PGA TOUR career. In addition, this is the first time Duke has had the lead after any round of a TOUR event.
• This marks the third 18-hole lead of Charlie Wi's PGA TOUR career. Wi opened with rounds of 65 at the 2007 Honda Classic and the 2005 84 LUMBER Classic en route to a tie for 13th and a tie for 32nd, respectively.
• The last 18-hole leader to win on the PGA TOUR was Sergio Garcia at THE PLAYERS in May. Of the 28 stroke-play tournaments on TOUR this year, only five times has the 18-hole leader/co-leader gone on to win the event.
• Kenny Perry continued his hot streak on Thursday with a round of 6-under 65 at the John Deere Classic. Perry is making his ninth career start at the John Deere Classic and has enjoyed plenty of success in the Quad Cities area with four top-10 finishes including a runner-up in 1994 and a third-place finish in 1998.
• Thursday's round of 65 is Perry's ninth straight round in the 60s on the PGA TOUR, dating back to the first round of the Travelers Championship.
• Perry has arguably been the hottest player in the world over the past nine weeks in golf. Perry entered THE PLAYERS ranked No. 56 in the FedExCup points standings and No. 71 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He played in the final pairing on Sunday en route to a tie for 15th finish, and has since recorded two wins, a playoff loss to Ryuji Imada at the AT&T Classic, and a tie for sixth at the Travelers Championship to in turn move to No. 3 in the FedExCup standings and No. 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
• Perry entered the week trailing Phil Mickelson by seven points on the 2008 FedExCup points list. In turn, should he make the cut this week, he is guaranteed to move into the No. 2 spot on the points list and will be the first player other than Mickelson or Tiger Woods to sit in the top-two since J.B. Holmes was second following the Northern Trust Open in February.
• Mark Calcavecchia is making his first start at the John Deere Classic since 1994 and has gotten off to a nice start with a round of 68 on Thursday. Calcavecchia's 2008 season has been up and down after finishing tied for fourth at The Honda Classic, where he played the last six holes in 4 over par before losing to Ernie Els by three shots. In his last seven starts on the PGA TOUR, Calcavecchia has missed the cut four times and withdrawn three times due to difficulties with a knee injury and illness.
• Eric Axley's first-round 65 on Thursday marks his lowest round of the 2008 PGA TOUR season. While Axley has made as many cuts as he has missed this year (10), he finished tied for ninth at the U.S. Open, which ended a streak of 55 tournaments played without a top-10 (prior to that, his last was a tie for third at the 2006 Wyndham Championship).
• Woody Austin is making his 13th consecutive start at the John Deere Classic and is off to a good start with a round of 66. The Quad Cities keeps pulling Austin back as he has had limited success here with only one top-10 finish in that span (tie for eighth in 2001). Austin is coming off of a second-straight tied-for-second finish at the Buick Open two weeks ago, where he three-putted the 72nd green to lose to Kenny Perry by one shot.
• Will MacKenzie (65) is making his third PGA TOUR start after coming back from a knee injury which sidelined him for over two months. After missed cuts at the Buick Open and last week's AT&T National, MacKenzie appears to have his game back in shape to resurrect a season in which he has made only four cuts in 12 starts.
• Chris Riley carded a round of 5-under 66 on Thursday, tying his low round to par of the 2008 season. While Riley has struggled in recent seasons, failing to finish in the top 125 on the PGA TOUR money list since 2004, he has recorded three top-25 finishes in eight starts this year and does have some past success at the John Deere Classic. In seven prior starts at the John Deere Classic, Riley has recorded three top-5 finishes including a tie for second in 2003.
• Riley has competed in four events on the Nationwide Tour this year and was actually one shot out of the lead heading into the final round of the Chitimacha Louisiana Open before a final-round 74 left him tied for ninth on the week.
• Defending champion Jonathan Byrd opened his title defense with a round of 67 on Thursday as he attempts to join David Frost (1992-93) and Deane Beman (1971-72) as the only players to successfully defend their John Deere Classic titles.
• The John Deere Classic has featured 18 first-time winners in the tournament's history. Here are the players in the top 10 through 18 holes who are still looking for their first PGA TOUR title: Ken Duke, Charlie Wi, Patrick Sheehan, Ryan Armour, Brad Adamonis and Jeff Gove.
• Garrett Willis, who entered the week as an alternate and earned a spot in the field when Steve Lowery withdrew on Wednesday, took full advantage of his opportunity with a round of 65 on Thursday. Willis is making his eighth start of the 2008 season, where his best finish came at the Puerto Rico Open (tied for 35th). Since winning the 2001 Touchstone Energy Tucson Open, Willis has only two top-10 finishes in 147 starts on the PGA TOUR.
• The last alternate to win on the PGA TOUR was Wes Short Jr. at the 2005 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
• Two-time PGA TOUR winner Michael Bradley (66) is continuing some better play of late as he finally appears to be healthy again. Bradley entered the 2008 season on a Major Medical Extension (fractured right ankle in March of 2007) and was granted 14 events in which to earn $753,291, which would couple with his 2007 earnings of $31,889 and equal the earnings of No. 125 on last year's money list. Should he earn that amount, he would receive Major Medical Extension status for the remainder of the season. Bradley was limited to eight starts in 2007 after fracturing his right ankle while playing softball last fall. Bradley has earned $77,584 in five starts this year. He was tied for the lead through 36 holes of the Stanford St. Jude Championship before weekend rounds of 76-72 left him tied for 42nd on the week.
• Bradley is seeking his first top-10 on the PGA TOUR since finishing tied for ninth at the Michelob Championship in 2000.
• Kenny Perry and Garrett Willis were actually in the same pairing on Thursday, along with Kirk Triplett (68). The threesome combined to shoot 15 under par on TPC Deere Run.
• Nineteen-year-old Philip Francis, who just finished his freshman year on the NCAA Championship-winning UCLA Bruins golf team, is playing in his second straight John Deere Classic after receiving sponsor's exemptions each time. Francis opened with a round of 67 on Thursday morning in what is his fourth start as an amateur on the PGA TOUR. Along with the 2007 John Deere Classic, Francis competed in the Stanford St. Jude Championship and the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee last year.
• Bogey-free rounds on Thursday: Charlie Wi, Chris Riley, Patrick Sheehan, Woody Austin, Jeff Gove, Brad Adamonis, Chad Campbell, Kirk Triplett, Kevin Sutherland, and Billy Mayfair.
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