Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship: First-round notebook

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TIMONIUM, Md. -- Phil Blackmar, Des Smyth and Bruce Fleisher carded 5-under 65s Thursday and are tied for the opening-round lead. Last year on the East Course at Baltimore Country Club, five players posted 3-under 67s on Thursday.

Co-leader Des Smyth was one of four players to post bogey-free rounds on Thursday. (Badz/PGA TOUR)

Inside the Numbers

18-Hole Leaderboard

Player Score T1. Phil Blackmar 65 -5 T1. Des Smyth 65 -5 T1. Bruce Fleisher 65 -5 T4. Bernhard Langer 66 -4 T4. Fred Funk 66 -4 T4. Scott Hoch 66 -4 T4. Eduardo Romero 66 -4 T8. Denis Watson 67 -3 T8. Tom Jenkins 67 -3 T8. Jay Haas 67 -3 T8. Tom McKnight 67 -3 T8. D.A. Weibring 67 -3 T8. Jim Thorpe 67 -3 T8. Ben Crenshaw 67 -3

• Before Thursday, Blackmar had never been an opening-round leader/co-leader on the Champions Tour. Fleisher was a first-round co-leader earlier this year at both The ACE Group Classic (tied for 25th) and the SAS Championship (tied for fifth) two weeks ago. Smyth last led after an opening round at the 2005 Administaff Small Business Classic (tied for 22nd).

• Phil Blackmar's 5-under 65 was his low numerical round on the Champions Tour. Blackmar's previous bests in his rookie year on the circuit was 66 in the final round of the 2008 Commerce Bank Championship and 66 in the second round of this year's Boeing Classic. His career-low round on the PGA TOUR was 62 in the second round of the 1996 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic.

• Des Smyth's 5-under 65 was his low round of the 2008 season. Smyth came into this week's championship without a top-20 finish this season. He currently ranks 76th on the yearly money list and needs to finish the season among the top 50 money winners this year for conditionally exempt status in 2009.

• The top three leaders in the Charles Schwab Cup race all got off to good starts in this week's Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, a key event in determining the eventual winner of the Schwab Cup. Jay Haas (-3) currently leads Bernhard Langer (-4) in the season-long race by 139 points and Fred Funk (-4) is only 222 points back. Double points go to the top-10 finishers at this week's championship with the winner earning a whopping 780 Charles Schwab Cup points. After the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma, Calif. (Oct. 27-Nov. 2) the player with the most Schwab Cup points will earn a $1 million payout.

• Thursday's scoring average was 70.449 compared to 71.462 in Round 1 last year at Baltimore CC. A total of 29 players recorded sub-par rounds Thursday and 43 players finished at par or better. Last year on Thursday at Baltimore CC, 19 players had sub-par rounds and 33 players finished at par or better.

• Defending champion Loren Roberts carded a 2-under 68 Thursday and is tied for 15th. Roberts had a three-putt at the ninth green, ending his streak of holes at this event without a three-putt at 152 consecutive.

• Bob Gilder is the only player to tee it up in every Champions Tour event this year. His appearance at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship was his 119th consecutive start, a streak that began at the 2004 JELD-WEN Tradition. Gilder, a two-time winner in Baltimore at the old Constellation Energy Classic at The Hayfields CC, shot even-par 70.

• Four players had bogey-free rounds Thursday (Des Smyth, Bernhard Langer, Fred Funk, Jim Thorpe).

• D.A. Weibring's 3-under 67 extended his run of consecutive sub-par rounds at this championship to 10 straight. Hale Irwin's 2-over 72 Thursday ended his run of consecutive par/better rounds in the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship at 10 straight.

• The par-4, 427-yard first hole at Baltimore Country Club was the hardest in Round 1 (4.321). The hole yielded just three birdies (Ben Crenshaw, Kirk Hanefeld, Mike Goodes). The par-3 seventh hole played as the second-hardest (3.308), yielding only three birdies (Fulton Allem, James Mason, Gil Morgan). The par-5 fourth hole played as the easiest (4.679). The hole yielded one eagle (Bruce Vaughan) and 28 birdies.

• The starting field of 78 players definitely had an international flavor. Players from 12 different countries competed in Thursday's first round. In addition to the United States, there were professionals representing Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, South Africa, Thailand and Zimbabwe.

• Statistical News and Notes: A total of three players hit every fairway Thursday (Bean, Morse, Streck). ... Larry Nelson and Eduardo Romero led the field in Greens In Regulation, hitting 16 of 18. ... Phil Blackmar, Bruce Fleisher, Mike Goodes and Denis Watson all had just 27 putts and Nick Price had 10 one-putt greens. ... Phil Blackmar eagled the par-4 10th hole, sinking his second shot with a pitching wedge from 106 yards.

• Friday's second round begins at 7:45 a.m. ET with all 78 professionals going off the first tee.