Frys.com Open, Round 1
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
FIRST ROUND WRAPPING UP (8:15 p.m.): The first round in winding down at Grayhawk, where Nick O'Hern's 63 will hold up. He has plenty of company, though, with Bob Heintz and Heath Slocum one shot back and Rory Sabbatini among a group two back. Beyond that? Fifteen guys are 4 under.
Of that group, though, Heintz stands to gain the most. He enters the week 171st on the money list and a high finish here would certainly move him well up the list. Ditto Spencer Levin, Brad Adamonis, whose father passed away last week, Billy Mayfair and Nicholas Thompson. All are outside the top 125 on the money list right now and all would be in good shape, as you can see in the projected money list, if they can hold or improve their position on the leaderboard the rest of the week. -- Brian Wacker
OLSON'S STRUGGLES CONTINUE (7:34 p.m.): The opening round of the Frys.com Open is winding down, and Leif Olson is continuing to struggle. Not struggle to the extent of shooting 88 the way he did last week in Las Vegas, but he is 2 over through 13 holes today. Remember, this is a guy who nearly won at Turning Stone a few weeks ago. One minute, he's finishing at 16 under, the next 17 over. Odd. -- Brian Wacker
ANOTHER BIRDIE BARRAGE (6:55 p.m.): The birdies keep coming at Grayhawk Golf Club, where Nick O'Hern just moved to the top of the leaderboard at 7 under thanks to a back-nine 28 that included eight birdies and one bogey for a career-low 63.
On the day, O'Hern missed just two fairways and hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation while taking just 24 putts that included 10-straight one-putts to close. O'Hern also missed just one putt all day from inside 10 feet.
O'Hern didn't do much on his front nine with just one birdie and one bogey, but with a finishing stretch like that he didn't need to. Check out his scorecard below (click here to replay his round with Shot Tracker). -- Brian Wacker
STREELMAN STREAK ENDS (6:36 p.m.): After making four-straight birdies between hole Nos. 13-16, Kevin Streelman finally made a par when he two-putted from just over 19 feet on the 17th hole. Still, he closed out his first nine holes in 29 and has since added another birdie on No. 1 (and a bogey at No. 3) to grab a share of the lead at 6 under. -- Brian Wacker
COUPLES BACK AT IT (6:30 p.m.): Two weeks removed from leading the U.S. to a decisive win at The Presidents Cup, Fred Couples is back on the golf course, this time as a member of the field. Thursday, the 50-year-old Couples shot a 3-under 67.
And from the sound of it, this won't be the last we see of Couples on the PGA TOUR, including next season.
"I have played pretty well [this year]. I had two really good chances of winning, which is the only reason I keep doing this," Couples said. "And whether I play like that next year is yet to be seen. If I don't come out and play, I'll head on over to the Champions Tour. But I'm gonna give this tour one more ride and see how I play next year."
In typical Couples fashion, though, he's not too worried about his play. He just happened to be in the area and figured he'd give it a go.
"My girlfriend, Julie, lives here so ... I just wanted to play," Couples said. "I have a shot at playing better than I thought going into Friday, so my whole thought process was just, I live four hours from here in Palm Springs. I might as well drive over here and play." -- Brian Wacker
DOWN PAT (6:15 p.m.): Pat Perez's commute this week? About 200 yards. Having played his college golf at Arizona State, Perez has also played Grayhawk "a thousand times."
"I know all the grass that's out there and I know how the greens," said perez, who shot a 4-under 66 -- a decent score, but one that could have been better. "That's all the more frustrating that I didn't make the putts today. I had a lot of putts inside 15 feet, but I just didn't put a good stroke on 'em."
Still, Perez wasn't too upset considering he hasn't touched a club in a month and this is his first tournament since the BMW Championship.
"[A win] here would be really special," Perez added. "Got a lot of family and friends out there, so it would be awesome." -- Brian Wacker
BIRDIE ALERT (5:52 p.m.): Usually, you don't see as many birdies from the afternoon wave as you do the morning groups. That's not entirely true this week, though, with teriffic weather gracing the Scottsdale area. That said, Nick O'Hern is taking full advantage, having birdied his last five holes to get to 5 under on the day.
After an early birdie on the second hole, and a bogey on No. 6, O'Hern has been nothing short of spectacular with his iron play with four of his last five birdies coming from inside 7 feet. His lone birdie from outside that distance came on No. 12, where he bombed one in from just inside 49 feet.
As a result, O'Hern is within two of the lead as the opening round plays on at TPC Grayhawk, which is playing a little more than a half-stroke under par at the moment. Don't expect to see many birdies down the stretch, though -- Nos. 16, 17 and 18 are playing as the fifth, sixth and fourth-most difficult holes on the golf course. -- Brian Wacker
THIS AND THAT (5:20 p.m.): A host of Scottsdale residents currently sit within two shots of Points after the morning wave of the Frys.com Open. The list at 4-under 66 includes Pat Perez and Ricky Barnes, while Bryce Molder, Fred Couples, Martin Laird and Matt Jones are in with 3-under 67s. ...
Tom Pernice Jr. and Tom Lehman opened with scores of 67 and 68, respectively. They represent two of three players in the field this week with victories this season on the Champions Tour. The other, Michael Allen, is playing in the afternoon wave and 2 under through 11 holes. ...
As mentioned, Laird followed up his first career PGA TOUR win last week in Las Vegas with a 3-under 67 today. The only player to win in back-to-back weeks in 2009 was Tiger Woods at the Buick Open and World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. -- John Bush
ON POINT (4:53 P.M.): Should D.A. Points' lead hold up -- it may not with Kevin Streelman already 6 under through his first seven holes today -- it would mark the first time he's held the opening-round lead in his PGA TOUR career. In fact, the only leads Points has held up to this point on TOUR came after the second round of the 2006 Valero Texas Open and the 2006 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. In either case, he did not go on to win.
But this has been a good year for Points, a four-time winner on the Nationwide Tour. Points has already put up career-best numbers in top-10 finishes (3), top-25 finishes (6), cuts made (17), money earned ($1.1 million plus) and a career-best third-place finish at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
His 5-under 65 is his ninth sub-70 round in his last 10 attempts, dating to the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship. The only round he didn't post in the 60s during that stretch was a final-round 70 at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (T18). -- John Bush
KODAK CHALLENGE UPDATE (4:30 p.m.): Kevin Streelman, the Kodak Challenge leader, is approaching this week's challenge hole, the par-3 16th at Grayhawk Golf Club.
Streelman is 4 under through five holes on his round to join a large group one shot behind leader D.A. Points. But Streelman also has his eyes set on another leaderboard this week because $1 million is on the line with the Kodak Challenge.
Players must play 18 of the 30 Kodak Challenge holes to be eligible to win the season-long competition, which is in its first year. They will take their lowest 18 scores, throwing out the rest, on the Kodak Challenge holes to compete for the title and $1 million. Three events remain to claim the prize. For more on the Kodak Challenge, click here.
The standings are tight through last week's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. View them below. -- Nick Zaccardi
| Kodak Challenge leaders through Las Vegas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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WEIR OUT FAST (3:55 p.m.): Tournament favorite Mike Weir is heating up quickly in Scottsdale. Weir has birdied his first four holes and is only one shot back of morning leader D.A. Points.
He's 4-for-4 on fairways and greens, sinking a 10-foot putt, a 9-foot putt and a pair of tap-ins. When he won this event in 2007, Weir shot a first-round 1-under 69. Last year, when he tied for fourth, he shot a 66 on Thursday. Both times he went on to shoot lower later in the week, so he might only be warming up.
Follow Weir's round with Shot Tracker here.
Among the afternoon players, Weir and Bob Heintz (3 under, T10) are going low to start their rounds. Points is alone at the top after Spencer Levin bogeyed No. 7, his 16th hole, to fall one shot back. -- Nick Zaccardi
OBERHOLSER'S BACK (3:25 p.m.): Arron Oberholser must feel close to 100 percent to be playing this week. That's a rarity for him these days.
He wrapped up a 2-under 68 on Thursday, three shots back of leaders D.A. Points and Spencer Levin. It marked Oberholser's first round on TOUR since withdrawing from the Buick Invitational after aggravating a wrist injury in February. Oberholser always seems to be battling back, wrist, arm or shoulder problems.
He committed to play last week in Las Vegas, but withdrew that Tuesday. He's playing at home this week in Scottsdale, where he led after two rounds last year and finished tied for fourth.
Oberholser is on a major medical extension this year, but given that he has only played three tournaments, it'll carry over to 2010 unless he really makes a splash in the Fall Series. Including this week, Oberholser has 15 tournaments left to gain $376,271 and equal the No. 125 money list earnings from 2008. -- Nick Zaccardi
TWEET OF THE DAY II (3 p.m.): "I am glad that's over. I am rusty after month and a half break. Go thing I have already looked my card up for next year!" -- Bubba Watson (@bubbawatson) on his opening round 74.
It's not quite the opening-round 88 that Leif Olson had last week in Las Vegas, but four straight bogeys between hole No.s 3-6 killed Watson's round before it even got going. He had just one bogey the rest of the way (and only one birdie), but that's what happens when you take 33 putts.
Even though it has been more than a month since Watson played, he had been struggling before that with five-straight missed cuts and a WD before a tie for 32nd at the Deutsche Bank Championship and a tie for 15th at the BMW Championship. -- Brian Wacker
BARNES CONTENDING (2:30 p.m.): It's been four months since we last saw Ricky Barnes near the top of a leaderboard on TOUR. Welcome back, Ricky.
The U.S. Open runner-up in June just birdied the par-5 fourth to join clubhouse leader D.A. Points at 5 under at Grayhawk Golf Club. He has six birdies on the day, which has got to be at least a little surprising.
Barnes has missed his last six cuts dating to July and fallen to No. 119 on the money list, dangerous territory with three events to go. It looks like he's found a groove again -- and just in time to possibly secure his PGA TOUR card for 2010. -- Nick Zaccardi
FOREVER YOUNG (2:15 p.m.): Champions Tour-eligible Tom Pernice Jr. has some company from the 50-and-over crowd at the Frys.com Open.
Fred Couples and Tom Lehman are two of the most recognizable names in the field this week. Like Pernice, they both turned 50 this year. All three are currently in the top 20 during the first round. Pernice, backing up his tie for seventh last week, is again in seventh at 3 under. So is Couples, and Lehman is one shot back of them at 2 under.
As many as six Champions Tour players could finish in the top 125 on the money list by the end of the Fall Series. That list includes 60-year-old Tom Watson, who earned all of his money from that British Open runner-up. -- Nick Zaccardi
| 50-and-over players in the top 150 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LEADERBOARD CHECK (1:55 p.m.): Notice anything about the leaderboard so far today from the Frys.com Open? Well, it looks an awful lot like last week's from Las Vegas with Jeff Klauk, Tom Pernice Jr., Martin Laird and Chad Campbell all hovering near the top of it.
The man atop it, however, is D.A. Points, who is 5 under as he finishes up his round on No. 18 and who quietly has had a very nice year. Despite missing 10 of 27 cuts, Points has three top-10s and a half-dozen top-25s. In other words, it's been feast for famine. It's been more the former, though, with Points currently 79th on the money list (his highest career finish is 161st in 2005).
The reason Points has scored so well? He's done exactly what you need to at Grayhawk, hitting 15 of 17 greens in regulation with 1.6 putts per GIR. He's also averaging an approach shot distance of just 29 feet with only one missed putt from inside 10 feet. Now we'll see if 5 under will hold up once the afternoon wave hits the course. -- Brian Wacker
WISE UP (1:35 p.m.): Even the most ardent of professional golf followers may not know anything about Jake Younan-Wise, who is currently tied for third.
Younan-Wise, 22, Monday qualified for the Frys.com Open and is playing his first PGA TOUR event. Starting on the back nine Thursday, he birdied the par-4 10th. He then reached the green in two at the 572-yards, par-5 11th 11th at Grayhawk Golf Club before making an 8-foot eagle putt to go to 3 under and move into the top five.
Younan-Wise, who is from Australia, played collegiately at Texas Tech before turning professional and winning an event on the Gateway Tour a year ago. -- Nick Zaccardi
TWEET OF THE DAY I (1:05 p.m.): "Round one today. 11:52 tee time. Grayhawk is in great shape and the weather is perfect. Course should be a good test." -- John Rollins (@John_Rollins) on the conditions in Arizona.
Want further proof that scoring will be good today? That's it from Rollins, who earlier this year won the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. He also has two other strong finishes with a pair of seconds at The Honda Classic and the Buick Invitational, though he did struggle here two years ago in his only other trip to Grayhawk with three rounds of 71 or worse, including a final-round 77. -- Brian Wacker
EXPECT ANOTHER BIRDIE-FEST (12:50 p.m.): The winning score last week in Las Vegas was 19 under. One state over, in Arizona at Grayhawk Golf Club, expect a similar result. Never mind that D.A. Points and Bryce Molder are already 4 under through 11 holes -- Grayhawk ranked second on the PGA TOUR last year among courses with the easiest par-4s (see chart below). It also had the easiest par-4 -- the 332-yard 15th -- on TOUR in 2008.
All that should bode well for Tim Clark, who currently ranks fifth on TOUR in par-4 performance. Plus, there's that whole best player on TOUR never to have won thing. Clark, however, is only even par through his first 11 holes today. -- Brian Wacker
| Courses with the easiest Par-4s on the PGA TOUR in 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Easiest Par-4s on the PGA TOUR in 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ON THE BUBBLE (12:30 p.m.): This week's bubble boy is Chris Stroud, who comes into the Frys.com Open ranked 125th on the money list.
Stroud is one of the better ball-strikers on the PGA TOUR, but he struggles with the putter, ranking outside the top 100 in every major putting category, including putting average and three-putt avoidance. Not exactly the kind of numbers you want to have coming to a place like Grayhawk, where there will be an emphasis on rolling the rock.
This season, like that of anyone in the 125th position, has been up and down for Stroud. He missed two cuts and had a WD in his last five events, but he's also coming off a tie for 19th following a final-round 63 at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
That will give him some confidence, but a 63 at that event isn't as good as it sounds, not with 25 rounds of 64 or better and 16 of 63 or better in Las Vegas.
Stroud isn't the only one feeling the heat this week, though -- anyone in the 109-140 range on the money list needs to play well with just two more Fall Series events after this week. -- Brian Wacker
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