PODS Championship: First-Round Notebook

text size

PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- Play in the first round of the PODS Championship was suspended at 2:10 p.m. ET due to a dangerous situation, marking the first rain delay of the season. Play resumed at 4:40 p.m. and was eventually suspended due to darkness at 6:20 p.m. with 72 players left on the course. The first round will resume at 7:30 a.m., with the second round beginning at 8:45 a.m.

Jeff Maggert's 66 is his best opening round of the year. (Greenwood/WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

Thursday Night Leaders

Player Score Thru 1. B. Bryant -6 F T2. K. Perry -5 F T2. J. Maggert -5 F T2. S. Cink -5 F T2. L. Janzen -5 15 T6. T. Pernice, Jr. -4 F T6. J. Byrd -4 F T6. C. Pettersson -4 F T6. J. Senden -4 14 T6. S. Appleby -4 11 T6. N. Thompson -4 9

• The only tournaments affected by weather delays this season are the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (15-minute frost delay on Saturday) and the FBR Open (frost delays each of the first three days). The last weather-related suspension at the PODS Championship came during the second round in 2002 when lightning suspended play at 5:47 p.m.

• Bart Bryant holds the clubhouse lead with a 6-under 65, one stroke ahead of Kenny Perry, Jeff Maggert, Stewart Cink and Lee Janzen (thru 15 holes). The three-time PGA TOUR winner has made the cut in four of five starts this season, with a tie for 16th at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic his best outing.

• Should his lead hold up when the first round is completed on Friday, it would represent the fourth time in Bart Bryant's career he has held the first-round lead. The others came at the 1996 Sprint International (tied for 54th), 2005 TOUR Championship (won) and the 2006 Bay Hill Invitational (tied for 20th).

• Bryant is making his seventh start at the PODS Championship. After missing the cut in his first appearance in 2000, he has made five consecutive cuts, with a tie for 12th in 2007 his best showing.

• History hasn't been kind to first-round leaders of the PODS Championship. Since the inaugural event in 2000, the first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win just once in seven attempts (K.J. Choi, 2002).

• Jeff Maggert's 5-under 66 is his best opening round of the season (69, Sony Open in Hawaii) and equals his season-best round at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (Rd. 4). The 66 in Palm Springs was Maggert's last sub-70 score, marking a span of 15 rounds without breaking 70.

• Dudley Hart withdrew prior to the start of the first round with a shoulder injury. He was replaced by Jon Mills, who is currently 1 under through 16 holes. Mills also gained the final spot at this year's FBR Open after Arron Oberholser withdrew. He went on to a season-best tie for 34th that week, one of four made cuts in six starts this season. Mills is back on TOUR after finishing fourth on the 2007 Nationwide Tour money list.

• In addition to Hart pulling out of the tournament with a shoulder injury, Kevin Na (76) had to withdraw following his opening round with flu-like symptoms.

• Monday Qualifier Ted Purdy, who opened with 2-under 69, is being assisted this week by 16-year-old caddie Kenny Cavender. The two met earlier this week when Purdy successfully Monday Qualified at the Fox Hollow Golf Club. Cavender is playing his junior season on the golf team at nearby Mitchell High School.

• Four past champions of the PODS Championship are playing this week, including defending champion Mark Calcavecchia (1 under thru 13 holes), 2005 winner Carl Pettersson (67), 2003 champion Retief Goosen (70) and 2000 winner John Huston (1 over thru 10 holes). All four players are seeking to join K.J. Choi (2002, 2006) as the only multiple winners of the event.