Wadkins brothers see each other rise up Allianz board

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BOCA RATON, Fla. -- They don't have matching Super Bowl rings or a spot in an Oreo ad, but the Wadkins brothers do have something in common with the NFL's most famous sibling duo.

Bobby Wadkins is two shots better than brother Lanny after the first round. (Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

Lanny vs. Bobby thru 18 Holes

Category Bobby Lanny Score 67 69 Eagles 0 0 Birdies 6 6 Pars 11 9 Bogeys 1 3 Double Bogeys 0 0 Other 0 0 Driving Accuracy 71.4% 50% Driving Distance 286.5 yds. 257.5 yds. Greens in Regulation 83.3% 66.7% Putts per Round 27 27 Putts per GIR 1.600 1.583 Sand Saves 100.0% 0

Like Eli and Peyton Manning, Lanny and Bobby Wadkins can both say they've won the same event. In Lanny's case, his win at the 2000 ACE Group Classic -- his debut tournament -- is his only career victory on the Champions Tour.

The 21-time PGA TOUR winner trumps his younger brother on that Tour since Bobby never captured a PGA TOUR title. But little bro has the upper hand in Champions Tour wins with four. Bobby got his first taste of victory in, coincidentally, his first Champions Tour start. That made him just the 10th player (and the first since Lanny) to win in his debut.

Once Bobby got that first win, he just couldn't stop.

"You never know this until you win, but winning does breed winning. Once you expect yourself to win, then good things happen to you. I think that's what's happened to me on the Champions Tour," said Bobby, whose last win came at the 2007 ACE Group Classic.

At the Allianz Championship, the brothers are in the top tier of a very crowded leaderboard. Friday was only day one at The Old Course at Broken Sound, so neither is expecting to add more notches to his "wins" column just yet. But, with Bobby firing a 5-under 67 and Lanny two shots back after posting a 69, anything can happen.

Lanny made birdie on his first four holes to quickly pass Bobby, who was eight groups ahead and sitting at 3 under at the time. Bobby, however, soon took the lead in the brother competition.

"He got off to a good start when he birdied the first three holes. I birdied the first four holes so it was a good start on the front for the both of us," Lanny said.

"I saw that I was at 3 under and I was kinda checking where he was and saw him at 4 or 5 under and I birdied two in a row to catch him, but then I [didn't see him up there again]," Bobby said. "I don't know what he did. But that was pretty nice. Especially with Lanny, he's having such back problems it's amazing he can even play right now."

The two take note of each other on the course, but Lanny says he focuses on his own game, not what his sibling is doing.

"[I notice Bobby] if his name gets on the leaderboard. I'm a leaderboard watcher so I'm always paying attention to what is going on," Lanny said. "...But no more him than anyone else. Golf is an individual game you just try to go out there and do the best each day and hopefully it's good enough. All you can control is what you do."

That's not Bobby's philosophy, or at least it wasn't on Friday. He had the good fortune to be paired with Jay Haas, who torched the front nine in 31 strokes but cooled off on the back to finish tied with Bobby.

"You always want to play with the best, especially when he's playing good ... the way (Haas) played on the first day, it's kind of like a racecar. Just get back there in his draft and roll along with him," Bobby said.

"The whole key is to be there, especially on these finishing holes on Sunday, you just want to be where you have a chance. When he's playing like that, if you get on his shirttail and ride it, that's fantastic."

Haas weighed in on Bobby's day as well, although he had a somewhat different story to tell on his long-time friend.

"He hit a lot of good shots and made some nice putts also. Not any long ones, just some mid-rangers. He was telling us how poorly he putted at the Turtle Bay Championship [two weeks ago]. He had three three-putts and a four-putt on Saturday then he had 35 putts with five three-putts on Sunday. So he broke his putter. I think it deserved to be broken."

The pair, along with five others, is one stroke behind tournament leaders Mark McNulty and Jerry Pate. Lanny is crowded at 3 under with 13 other players. For him, getting into contention is a positive sign after the back problems he has been battling. His back is so bad that he has to ride the golf cart throughout the entire course.

After two back surgeries in February and March of 2007, he only teed it up five times last year on the Champions Tour. His back woes will play a huge role in the 1977 PGA Championship winner's scheduling tactics this season.

"I was hoping to play a lot more than I'm thinking I will right now. It depends on my back and hip. I may skip California with the cold weather and wait until the Tour comes back to Florida. If my back is good, though, I'm playing."

The two grew up in Virginia but both have a Florida connection. Wayne Huizenga, owner of the Miami Dolphins, offered them playing privileges at the Floridian, his exclusive golf course near West Palm Beach, Fla. Huizenga is good friends with Bobby, who sports the Dolphins logo on his golf shirts.

"A guy named John McNeely is Wayne's golf director and we went to college together. I worked with John on my swing and was at the course so much that Wayne said, 'You're here every time I come here. I might as well make you a member.' And I said thank you very much.

Despite the Dolphins' frustrating season, Wadkins doesn't mind supporting his friend's team.

"I'll be wearing the shirt and maybe even get some pants out. What he's paying for this shirt, if he wants turquoise pants, he can get them."

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