The Starter: Round 1, Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines

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Feb. 5, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first group will soon tee off in today's first round of the Buick Invitational. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
1 pm ET (10 am local)		Marc Turnesa, Camilo Villegas, Padraig Harrington (South) Turnesa won as a rookie in '08 and finds himself playing with two of the world's best players. Track 'em
1 pm ET (10 am local)		Ryuji Imada, Hunter Mahan, Tom Lehman (North) Imada finished a distant second to Tiger Woods here in the Buick Invitational last year. Track 'em
1:10 pm ET (10:10 am local)		Phil Mickelson, Ben Curtis, Kevin Sutherland (South) Mickelson, who missed the cut last week, has to wait until Friday to play the North Course. Track 'em

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Brett Wright previews Thursday's first round:

The Buick Invitational is only the third tournament on the mainland this season. It is also the first tournament of the year for several players. Marco Dawson is one of those players who had a worthy reason to postpone his season opener.

A new dad: On the putting green Wednesday, he told me that he and his wife Heather had their first child last November. I asked the new dad what they named their son, and Marco smiled proudly through that intimidating goatee and said "Marco."

Thursday's forecast

Showers
Temp: 66 high/55 low
Showers are expected throughout the day. Winds will come out of the south at 13 mph.

Sophomore: I caught up with Jason Day, the young Australian rookie from last season. He told me that he is much more comfortable being out on TOUR. He now knows the courses and he has learned a great deal about his own game under pressure. He tied for 49th here at the Buick Invitational last year and could be a sleeper pick this week.

What's in a name: The name of the course, Torrey Pines, comes from the many Torrey pine trees on both the North and South courses. These trees are the rarest pine trees in the country and only live in two locations -- Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Santa Barbara and here in San Diego.

About the greens: The greens at Torrey Pines are poa annua, a putting surface that many have played on throughout the country. These greens tend to be a little bumpier than bentgrass.

On TV, these greens look like they have different color. These are mutations in the Poa annua grass that is basically a controlled weed. These greens are healthy and firm already this week, and you will see more missed six-footers here than almost anywhere else simply because of the surface.

The one stat(s) you need to know

In each of the last two years, Phil Mickelson has followed a missed cut with a win at his very next event. Mickelson missed only one of 21 cuts in '08, but followed the missed cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a win the next week at the Northern Trust Open. In '07, Mickelson missed the cut at the FBR Open and followed that with a win the following week at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Mark Stevens, PGA TOUR

FEDEXCUP NOTES: ROUND 1
• There are 28 rookies on the PGA TOUR in 2009 and 17 rookies have earned points through the first four events.

Villegas

• Eleven rookies are ranked in the top 125 of the FedExCup points standings.

• Scott Piercy and Webb Simpson are the highest-ranked rookies at 16th and 17th, respectively, and are among the six players who could move atop the FedExCup standings with a victory this week.

• Camilo Villegas has played in all eight of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup events and has recorded a total of six top-10 finishes, including two victories in 2008.

• In addition to finishing second in the 2008 final FedExCup standings, Villegas was ranked in the top 10 in scoring average, birdie average, birdie-or-better conversion percentage, putting over 25 feet and par-5 scoring.

-- Mike Vitti, PGA TOUR Staff

The Film Room

	Opening Shot Marc Fein and Brian Katrek reflect on Phil's return, question how players will respond to playing Torrey Pines without Tiger, and preview the Buick Invitational. Watch it
	Tiger at Torrey Pines Tiger Woods has won a total of 13 times at Torrey Pines Golf Course, six wins as an amateur and seven as a professional. Watch it
	A bright outlook Luke Donald hurt his wrist last year playing Torrey Pines in the U.S. Open. He returns this week with an optimistic outlook for the 2009 Buick Invitational. Watch it