CA Championship: First-round notebook

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DORAL, Fla. -- Phil Mickelson matched the third-least number of putts for nine holes in PGA TOUR history for his back nine on Thursday with eight, aided by chip-ins on his final two holes. Mickelson needed just 20 putts on the day.

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An eagle on the first hole got Rory McIlroy off to a flying start.

Inside the Numbers

18-Hole Leaderboard

Player Score T1. Jeev M. Singh 65 -7 T1. Retief Goosen 65 -7 T1. Prayad Marksaeng 65 -7 T1. Phil Mickelson 65 -7 T5. Nick Watney 66 -6 T5. Rod Pampling 66 -6 T5. James Kingston 66 -6 T5. Padraig Harrington 66 -6

• Stan Utley used only six putts on the front nine of the second round of the 2002 Air Canada Championship. Bill Nary used only seven putts on the back nine of the third round of the 1952 El Paso Open.

• Other players besides Mickelson to use only eight putts are Jim Colbert( front nine, final round, 1967 Greater Jacksonville Open); Sam Trahan (back nine, final round, 1979 IVB Philadelphia Golf Classic), Bill Calfee (back nine, third round, 1980 Greater Greensboro Open); Kenny Knox (back nine, first round, 1989 MCI Heritage Classic); John Inman, (front nine, final round, 1994 MCI Heritage Classic); and Tom Pernice Jr. (back nine, third round, 2005 Funai Classic at Walt Disney World Resort).

• The 65 posted by Mickelson was one off his career low at the Doral Blue Course, a first-round 64 in 2005.

• Prayad Markseang holds a share of the first-round lead, having earned his exemption into the event through his rank of the 2008 Japan Tour Order of Merit.

• Co-leader Jeev Milkha Singh is playing in his third CA Championship event this week, his best finish being a tie for 26th last year. Singh's 7-under-par 65 included a run of six birdies in seven holes (15, 16, 17, 1, 2, 3).

• On three occasions, the first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win the CA Championship. They were Tiger Woods in 2002 and 2006, and Geoff Ogilvy in 2008.

• Co-leader Retief Goosen finished tied for second last year at the CA Championship, one stroke behind Ogilvy. Goosen has played in eight previous CA Championships with four top-10s.

• After a slow start to his 2009 season on the PGA TOUR (two missed cuts and a first-round loss at Accenture Match Play Championship), Padraig Harrrington found his form Thursday, posting a 6-under-par 66. Harrington returns to Doral after a year's absence -- prior to the 2008 CA Championship, he had not missed a World Golf Championships event in which he was eligible dating back to the 2000 Accenture Match Play Championship. He is playing in his 30th career World Golf Championships event this week.

• Louis Oosthuizen led the field with nine birdies, but was gutted by a double-bogey 6 on the 18th hole (his ninth). Oosthuizen finish at 5-under-par 67.

• Sean O'Hair (tied for ninth) began the first round with eagles on his first two holes, the first player on the PGA TOUR to start a tournament (or a round) with two eagles since Chris Tidland at the 2007 Ginn sur Mer Classic. Tidland missed the cut. O'Hair hit 6-iron to six feet from 190 yards on No. 1 and holed out with a wedge from 41 yards on No. 2 after a 321-yard drive.

• Four players posted bogey-free rounds: Nick Watney (66), Harrington (66), Vijay Singh (69) and Stuart Appleby (71).

• Fifty-three of the 80 players broke par and 59 players were at par or better. As expected, the par-4 18th hole played most difficult on Thursday at 4.375. There were only three birdies while there were 17 bogeys and eight double bogeys.