The Daily Wrap-up: Round 1, Quail Hollow Championship
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The Masters is over. The Tiger & Phil show might just be getting started.
Tiger Woods matched the course record with a 30 on the front nine, where he closed with three straight birdies Thursday morning to finish off a 7-under 65 at the Quail Hollow Championship. Phil Mickelson followed in the afternoon by chipping in for eagle and making a remarkable par save from under a video board for a 5-under 67 that put him in a tie for second.
They did not play together, as was the case three weeks ago in an electric final-round pairing at Augusta National. But on a warm and breezy afternoon in Carolina, it seemed as though they were never far apart.
A few fans taunted Woods early in his round, calling out, "Let's go, Phil!" as he walked by.
Mickelson couldn't escape a familiar name even as he lumbered to the finish, as fans called out, "You're only two shots behind Tiger!"
"It's only one round," Mickelson said. "There's a lot of golf left."
Even so, the Quail Hollow Championship served up quite an appetizer on a course that even was reminiscent of Augusta with virtually no rough and slick greens.
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MAGGERT FINDS HIS TOUCH WITH THE PUTTER
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
CHARLOTTE -- If Jeff Maggert played baseball, he'd likely be retired by now. He wouldn't be throwing footballs or making tackles, either.
Golf, though, gives 45-year-olds like Maggert the opportunity to compete well past the age when other athletes are selling autographs and living off investments fueled by the hefty guaranteed contracts they signed in their youth.
Maggert showed he's still got game, too, on Thursday when he fired a 68 that lifted him into a tie for fifth at the Quail Hollow Championship. He's three strokes behind the game's No. 1 Tiger Woods and one stroke shy of Phil Mickelson, Robert Allenby and Steve Mario.
That strong start notwithstanding, the 2009 season has been one of feast or famine for the soft-spoken Texan. He's missed seven cuts in 10 events, but he also has one top-10 and a tie for 21st two weeks ago. The dichotomy is not lost on Maggert.
"I feel like I'm going to win every week, but I miss the cut every week," he said with a wry smile. "So it's been kind of a strange year. I feel like I'm playing pretty well, but I don't know what's going on. I've missed a lot of cuts this year, and when I have made the cut I've played pretty well. So we'll see what happens this week."
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| Top 5 notables at Quail Hollow Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Thursday's Best |
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The 570-yard par-5 fifth hole was easiest with a Thursday scoring average of 4.660.
The 478-yard par-4 18th hole was toughest with a Thursday scoring average of 4.340.
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Phil Mickelson chipped in for eagle from just off the green at the par-5 seventh hole on his way to a 5-under 67. 
Tiger Woods matched the course record with a front-nine 30 on his way to a seven-birdie day to take the lead. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||||||||||
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent John Maginnes offers these observations from Thursday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
When Tiger finished on Thursday morning he was three shots clear of the field with his opening-round 65. Under ordinary circumstances you would not expect anyone from the afternoon to be able to mount that much of a charge. Spring in North Carolina almost always sees gusty winds in the afternoon, even on the most pleasant days. That didn't happen on Thursday. Although the breeze picked up a bit, it was not enough to deter the chase pack in the afternoon.
Although they were unable to reel Tiger all the way in, guys who posted good rounds in the afternoon, like Phil Mickelson and Steve Marino, both of whom shot 67, will have a great chance to pass the world's No. 1 player before he finishes his morning workout. If the wind picks up on Friday after lunch, it seems likely that Tiger will have been in the half of the field that got the raw end of the draw.
According to the forecast, the wind will blow on Friday afternoon at a sustained 16 mph with gusts over 20 mph. The question then becomes when will it pick up and who will it effect most? Thursday gave us an incredible day with great scoring and the No. 1 player in the world doing what he does. If the wind gets Tiger on Friday, there are several players with multiple majors there to take advantage. Mickelson is right there with an early time on Friday, which could set up a "battle for the bird" between the two best players in the world this weekend.
FIRST-ROUND NOTEBOOK: QUAIL HOLLOW CHAMPIONSHIP
By Joel Schuchman, PGA TOUR Staff
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tiger Woods extended his under-par streak at Quail Hollow Club to six rounds with a 7-under-par 65 on Thursday. Making his fourth start at the Quail Hollow Championship, Woods also posted his seventh round in the 60s (in 13 total rounds) and bested his career-low at the event (66, second round, 2004). The 65 was Woods' best round since an identical second-round 65 at the 2008 Buick Invitational.
• Woods has won nine of 21 tournaments when opening with a round of 65 or better. In those events, he has failed to eventually finish in the top-5 just six times.
• The front-nine 6-under-par 30 for Woods (his final nine) matched the 9-hole front-nine record (Kirk Triplett, 2004, Round 1; Trevor Immelman, 2006, Round 1; Bill Haas, 2006, Round 1; Pat Perez, 2008, Round 3).
• The bogey-free first round for Woods was his second of 2009 (Round 4, World Golf Championships-CA Championship).
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
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