Notebook: Round 1, Frys.com Open

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Oct. 22, 2009

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Weather: Sunny with temperatures in the lower 80s. Winds light and variable.

• Nick O'Hern birdied eight of the nine holes on the back nine at Grayhawk Golf Club's Raptor Course on Thursday on his way to a 7-under 63 and a one-stroke lead over Bob Heintz and 2009 The Barclays champion Heath Slocum. His Frys.com Open record 7-under 28 falls one shy of the lowest nine-hole score this season, a 9-under 27 by Chris Riley during the second round of the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open.

• While he was perfect on eight of the holes on the back nine, O'Hern recorded a bogey on the par-3 16th -- this week's Kodak Challenge hole. O'Hern sits No. 36 in the Kodak Challenge standings, while Scottsdale, Ariz., resident Kevin Streelman drained a 28-foot, 5-inch birdie putt on No. 16 to take a two-stroke lead over J.J. Henry. The 30-event competition concludes in two weeks at the Children's Miracle Network Classic, with the winner taking home $1 million. Here's a look at the current leaderboard:

1. Kevin Streelman (-16)
2. J.J. Henry (-14)
T3. Daniel Chopra, Nathan Green, Jason Gore, Steve Lowery, Bo Van Pelt (-13)

• It was a tale of two nines for Streelman on Thursday. He began his round on No. 10, posting six birdies in an opening-nine, 6-under 29. A birdie on No. 1 and a par on No. 2 left him at 7-under through 11 holes, but he played the remaining holes in 7 over for an opening-round, even-par 70.

• O'Hern's 63 betters his previous best opening-round score on the PGA TOUR of 65, carded at the 2007 Memorial Tournament -- his only previous first-round lead (finished T23) -- and the 2008 Valero Texas Open.

• Currently No. 102 on the money list, O'Hern is making his 26th start of the season, with 16 made cuts and a season-best tie for third at the Shell Houston Open. He missed the cut a year ago in his only previous start at the Frys.com Open.

• Bob Heintz posted a 6-under 64 to sit just one stroke behind tournament-leader O'Hern. It is his second-best opening round of the season, falling one shy of the 63 he posted last week en route to a tie for 19th at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Currently No. 171 on the money list, the Yale graduate entered this week with six consecutive made cuts.

• D.A. Points, a 32-year-old native of Pekin, Ill., birdied three of his first four holes en route to a 5-under 65 in his first-career start at the Frys.com Open. It represents the fourth time he has opened a TOUR event with a 65, one shy of his career-best opening round at the 2009 AT&T National (64, finished T31).

• Points, a four-time winner on the Nationwide Tour, is making his 28th start of the season and has already put up career-best numbers in top-10 finishes (three), top-25 finishes (six), cuts made (17), money earned ($1.1 million plus) and a career-best, third-place finish at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

• Points' 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 time he didn't post a round in the 60s during that stretch was a final-round 70 at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (T18).

• Seven Scottsdale residents currently sit within four shots of O'Hern after the first day of the Frys.com Open. The list at 4-under 66 includes Pat Perez, Ricky Barnes and Billy Mayfair, while Bryce Molder, Martin Laird, Matt Jones and Michael Allen posted 3-under 67s.

• Three players in this week's field have won on the Champions Tour this season, and all three posted solid opening-round scores on Thursday. Tom Pernice Jr. and Michael Allen opened with 3-under 67s, while Tom Lehman recorded a 68.

• U.S. Presidents Cup Team Captain Fred Couples opened with a 3-under 67 in his first start at the Frys.com Open, including five birdies in a six-hole stretch on Nos. 10-15. The recently-turned 50-year-old (Oct. 3) is making his 16th start of the season, with three top-five finishes already under his belt (T3-Northern Trust Open, T3-Shell Houston Open, T5-Wyndham Championship).

• Scottsdale resident Martin Laird followed up his first career PGA TOUR win last week in Las Vegas with a 3-under 67 on Thursday. 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.

Mike Weir followed up his win at the 2007 Frys.com Open with a tie for fourth in 2008. Playing in the afternoon wave, he opened up this year's event in fine fashion as well with birdies on his first four holes en route to a 4-under 66.

• The first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win just eight of 42 stroke-play events this season, most recently Steve Stricker at the Deutsche Bank Championship. The first-round leader/co-leader has failed to advance to the winner's circle in the first two playings of the Frys.com Open.

• Of the 132 players in the field, 68 recorded under-par rounds on Thursday, while 92 posted par-or-better scores.

Scoring Averages at the par-70 Grayhawk Golf Club:
Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
Thursday 35.045 34.273 69.318 ---

• The par-4 seventh played the toughest on Thursday, with a 4.455 average. The par-5 11th hole was the easiest at 4.561.

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