MasterCard Championship: First-Round Notebook

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KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii -- Tom Purtzer's 10-under 62 Friday is the best first-round score in tournament history. Previously, five players had recorded 63s on Friday at this event -- Brad Bryant (2007), Don Pooley, Loren Roberts and Tom Watson in 2006 and Tom Kite in 2002. The last time Purtzer was a first-round leader in a Champions Tour event was when he was tied for the top spot at the Boeing Championship at Sandestin last year.

Jim Thorpe opened the 2008 season much as he closed 2007. (Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

Firsts of the Year

Eagle D.A. Weibring (6th hole) Birdie John Harris (2nd hole) Bogey Mike Reid (1st hole) Double Bogey Tom Kite (5th hole) Bogey-Free Round Mark McNulty (7 birdies, 11 pars) Sub-Par Round Mike Reid (67) Round in the 60s Mike Reid (67)

• Jerry Pate's 6-under 66 included the first sub-30 nine-hole score on the Champions Tour in 2008, a 7-under 29 on the back side at Hualalai. It was an eight-stroke improvement over his first nine holes Friday. Overall, Pate had five birdies and an eagle on the second nine to go with two birdies and three bogeys on the front side.

• Loren Roberts, the 2007 Charles Schwab Cup winner and a champion at Hualalai in 2006, kicked off the 2008 season with a 4-under-par 68, his seventh straight round in the 60s at this event. Roberts' round Friday extended his streak of sub-par rounds to 14 straight dating back to last year. D.A. Weibring's 64 Friday now gives him 18 consecutive par/better rounds going back to the 2007 campaign.

• Defending Hale Irwin made his 13th straight appearance in this event, the longest current streak among players in the 41-man field. Irwin's even-par 72 Friday was his highest score at Hualalai since a first-round 73 in the opening round of the 2002 MasterCard Championship. The 72 also ended a streak of consecutive rounds in the 60s at Hualalai at 12 straight. In addition to last year's victory, Irwin won this tournament in 1997 and was a tie for second in 1998 and 2000.

• Jim Thorpe started the 2008 season in much the same way as he ended 2007. Thorpe's 9-under 63 Friday came on the heels of a victory at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma, Calif., last year. Thorpe finished tied for second last year at the MasterCard Championship after winning the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in 2006.

• Thorpe's 63 Friday was his seventh straight sub-70 round at Hualalai and his 13th straight sub-par score on this course. The last player to follow a season-ending win with a victory at the MasterCard Championship was Gil Morgan (1997 Energizer Senior Tour Championship/1998 MasterCard Championship).

• D.A. Weibring had the fewest putts of any player in Round One (24) and he was also first in putting average (1.357). Weibring ranked third on the Champions Tour last year in Putting (1.729).

• Mark Wiebe, the 2007 SAS Championship winner, opened with a 7-under 65, the best round among the eight new faces in this year's field. Wiebe extended his streak of holes without a three-putt to 252 in a row.

• Tom Purtzer had the day's long drive, a 336-yarder on No. 10.

• A total of 35 of the 41 players in this week's field finished under par Friday. Last year, 36 players in the 41-man field finished with rounds under par on Friday. There were 31 rounds in the 60s Friday compared to 25 on Friday last year and 27 on Friday in 2006.

• The scoring average Friday was 67.537 was the lowest ever on Friday at Hualalai, surpassing the 67.543 average for the 35-man field at the MasterCard Championship in 2006.

• The par-5 fourth hole played as the easiest Friday (4.317), yielding one eagle and 27 birdies. The par-3 eighth hole was the most difficult Friday (3.073), yielding just five birdies.