Allianz Championship: First-Round Notebook

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BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Fresh from his two-stroke victory at the Turtle Bay Championship two weeks ago, Jerry Pate shares the first-round lead with Mark McNulty after the pair shot 6-under-par 66s on Friday. Pate led all players in Greens in Regulation, hitting 17 of 18 at the Old Course at Broken Sound.

Jerry Pate got off to a strong start in his home state. (Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

• Pate has enjoyed success in his home state. The Pensacola resident owns three PGA TOUR-sanctioned victories in the state, including two on the PGA TOUR. He won the 1981 Pensacola Open and a year later won the inaugural event at TPC Sawgrass, claiming the Tournament Players Championship (now THE PLAYERS Championship). His other victory came at the 2006 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am on the Champions Tour.

• Mark McNulty had the shot of the day, chipping in for an eagle from 86 feet, five inches on the final hole to take a brief lead at 6 under par. Minutes later, Pate joined him atop the leaderboard with his 6-under-par 66.

• Fulton Allem had the day's long drive a 370-yarder on No. 10. Allem shot a 1-over-par 73 on Friday.

• Bob Gilder made his 96th consecutive Champions Tour start on Friday. It is the Champions Tour's longest current streak. The last event Gilder missed was the 2004 Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn. Dana Quigley holds the all-time record for consecutive events played with 264.

• Defending champion Mark James shot a 2-under-par 70 and is currently tied for 30th.

• Bernhard Langer, who lives just minutes from the course in Boca Raton, opened with a 3-under-par 69 and is tied for 16th. Langer was one of five players who posted bogey-free rounds.

• Joining Langer with bogey-free rounds were Keith Fergus, Phil Blackmar, Tim Simpson and Bruce Vaughan. In fact, Vaughan nearly made pars on all 18 holes. The only 'blemish' came at No. 7 when he made his lone birdie on his way to a 1-under-par 71.

• Tom Purtzer, Andy Bean and J.C. Snead all hit 13 of 14 fairways on Friday to lead in that category. John Cook had just 12 one-putts on Friday.