Mayakoba Golf Classic: First-Round Notebook

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Larry Mize is off to another great start in Mexico. (Feldman/WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

18-Hole Leaderboard

Player Scores 1. John Merrick 64 -6 T2. Larry Mize 65 -5 T2. Robert Damron 65 -5 T2. David Lutterus 65 -5 T2. Kenneth Ferrie 65 -5 T6. Brian Gay 66 -4 T6. John Daly 66 -4 T6. Tommy Gainey 66 -4

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico -- First-round leader John Merrick tied his career low on the PGA TOUR with a 6-under-par 64 on Thursday. Merrick shot an identical 64 last year in the first round at the Mayakoba Golf Classic en route to a tie for 48th finish.

• He also posted a 64 in the second round at the 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, but missed the cut. Last year's first-round leader and eventual champion Fred Funk shot an opening 8-under-par 62.

• In his rookie season in 2007, John Merrick finished 135th on the PGA TOUR money list but regained his status through the PGA TOUR Qualifying School, where he tied for 23rd. Merrick's best finish on TOUR was a tie for fourth at the 2007 Reno-Tahoe Open, and his best finish thus far in 2008 was a tie for 16th at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

• John Merrick's bogey-free 6-under-par 64 was one of eight rounds that were bogey-free on Thursday. The others came from Larry Mize, Robert Damron, Cameron Beckman, Craig Kanada, Parker McLachlin, Martin Laird, Ron Whittaker.

• Australian rookie David Lutterus is off to a strong start, posting a 5-under-par 65. He sits tied for second after missing the cut in his first two starts as a PGA TOUR member at the Sony Open in Hawaii and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

• Former Masters champion Larry Mize, who is eligible for the Champions Tour when he turns 50 in September, posted a 5-under-par 65 and sits tied for second through 18 holes. Last year he finished tied for ninth at the Mayakoba event.

• Last year's runner-up Jose Coceres finished at 3-under-par 67. Last year, Coceres followed up his playoff loss to Fred Funk with a loss to Mark Wilson in a four-way playoff at The Honda Classic.

• John Daly's 4-under-par 66 was his best round since a second-round 63 at the 2007 Frys.com Open.

• Greg Norman was 4-under-par through 10 holes before a double bogey on the par-3 seventh hole derailed his round. He finished at even-par 70.

• A look at the 132-player field finds 178 PGA TOUR victories and 13 major championships (Greg Norman, Nick Price, Bob Tway, Lee Janzen, John Daly, Shaun Micheel, Larry Mize, Mark Brooks).