Turning Stone Resort Championship, Round 1
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
PLAY SUSPENDED (6:30 p.m.): If it's not a weather problem, it's daylight at the Turning Stone Resort Championship, where first-round play was just officially suspended due to darkness.
There are a few players who still need to finish the last few holes of their round, and they'll do so early tomorrow morning, beginning at 7:30. The second round, meanwhile, will start on time. No one can catch leaders Tim Petrovic or Leif Olson, though, both of whom shot early rounds of 66 to take a one-shot lead over a trio of players that includes John Senden and Matt Kuchar. -- Brian Wacker
KLAUK WDS (6:25 p.m.): Add Jeff Klauk's name to the list of players who have withdrawn from the Turning Stone Resort Championship. Klauk suffered a foot injury and shot 79 today with six bogeys, one double bogey and one birdie, before pulling out. -- Brian Wacker
SECOND-ROUND SCORING SLOWING DOWN (5:45 p.m.): For a while today, we were seeing some good scores, in the morning and afternoon waves. That pace has slowed, however, as the second round starts to wind down.
Only Scott Gutschewski can make a move at the lead -- he's two back at 4 under with three holes to play. The last groups, though, still have a half-dozen holes to play. -- Brian Wacker
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SUPER SIBLINGS (4:53 p.m.): It's a great day to be a Thompson.
Nicholas Thompson is having an excellent opening round at the Turning Stone Resort Championship -- bogey-free through the first 13 holes, the 26-year-old sits at 4 under, just two strokes off the lead with five holes left in his first round.
Not too shabby for a guy who's missed more cuts (14) than he's made (13) this season and who's ranked 145th on the money list. As steady as he's looked on Thursday, though, Thompson will need to finish with a few more birdies to outshine his younger sister.
Alexis Thompson, a 14-year-old amateur, fired a 7-under 65 in the first round of the LPGA Tour's Navistar LPGA Classic. She's currently leading Lisa Strom and Michelle Wie by one stroke in Prattville, Ala.
At this rate, the Thompson family TiVo might be working overtime this weekend. -- Lauren Deason
STADS I AND II (4:30 p.m.): Kevin Stadler, who shot a 68 today, began and ended his day the same way -- with a birdie. Actually, he birdies his last two holes and that has him just two shots off the lead. Not inconsequently, he also holed a 117-yard pitch-shot for eagle at the par-5 eighth hole.
Meanwhile, down the East Coast a bit, in Maryland, Craig Stadler, Kevin's dad, is competing at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. Stadler senior shot 1-over 71 in the first round. -- Mark Williams
THE MAGIC NUMBER (4 p.m.): The 66s by Leif Olson and Tim Petrovic are still holding up as the second round marches on at the Turning Stone Resort Championship, though John Senden is just one back with three holes to play.
For Petrovic, who chipped-in twice en route to a seven-birdie, one-bogey day, it's the the third time this season that he has opened with a 66. Petrovic posted 66 at the John Deere Classic, where he finished in a tie for fifth, and the Wyndham Championship, where he finished in a tie for 24th. It's also the second time he's held or shared the 18-hole lead -- the first was at the 2002 FedEx St. Jude Classic, where he eventually finished second; the second at last year's Bob Hope Classic, where he tied for 44th.
For Olson, who has made just four cuts in 17 starts this year and comes in 214th on the money list, the 66 matches a career-low on the PGA TOUR and it also marks the first time he's led or shared the lead. -- Mark Williams
GOGGIN, ARMOUR OUT (3:30 p.m.): Matthew Goggin and Tommy Armour III have withdrawn from the Turning Stone Resort Championship. Armour pulled out with a back injury after nine holes, while Goggin, who shot 79, did not give a reason for pulling out. -- Brian Wacker
MORE ON SCOTT (3:15 p.m.): Maybe this is just what Adam Scott needed. He's been off and out of the spotlight since The Barclays. The result? Just his fourth round in the 60s this year (see below). As long as he doesn't follow it up with a 75 the way he did at the Wyndham Championship, International Presidents Cup Captain Greg Norman will be very happy. So will Scott, obviously. -- Brian Wacker
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SENDEN OFF TO STRONG START (2:47 p.m.): John Senden leads the PGA TOUR in greens in regulation and today we're seeing why. He's hit every green so far -- 9-for-9 -- and as a result just made the turn in 4-under 32 on the back nine at Turning Stone.
Conversely, Senden has hit just four fairways and did take 14 putts over those nine holes -- not exactly eye-popping numbers. In fact, for all the greens Senden hits, he ranks only 126th in putting average on TOUR.
Still, at this rate Senden should be near the top of the leaderboard when the round is over. He's just two ff the lead of Tim Petrovic and Leif Olson and still has the easier front nine to play. -- Brian Wacker
DATE CHANGE? (2:30 p.m.): Weather conditions haven't exactly been ideal at Turning Stone. Not today and not last year. Temperatures were in the 40s this morning and generally things were damp and dank. It's no wonder then why PGA TOUR officials are looking at a possible date change for this event in the future.
"It would behoove us to find a time where the weather is not so unpredictable," Rick George, the TOUR's executive vice president, told the Utica Observer-Dispatch earlier this week. "Weather like this, this is difficult.
Robert Allenby echoed those sentiments, saying ""It deserves to be played in June, July or August. The sponsor is putting up $6 million. That's a truckload of money. It deserves to have the best players in the world."
A change in date, however, wouldn't come until at least 2011 since the TOUR is close to finalizing its 2010 schedule. So for now, it's wait 'till next year after next year.
""I think the player's is an accurate statement," George continued. "The golf course is terrific, the location is terrific. Ray (Halbritter, Oneida Indian Nation representative and CEO) has done a terrific job, and they've done everything in a first-class manner." -- Brian Wacker
ORANGE ALERT (2 p.m.): With nearby Syracuse University hosting the Orange's annual homecoming football game on Saturday against the University of South Florida, the Turning Stone Resort Championship is encouraging fans to wear orange in support of the school, and the game will be shown on-site via the tournament jumbotron (click here for more).
Tournament Director Ann Spencer said the tournament will have a "fan-friendly" theme and that attitude will be manifested in many ways. A new mascot, Dimples the eagle, was introduced at the news conference; Martin Regan of Little Falls won the naming competition, according to the Utica Observer-Dispatch. -- Nick Zaccardi
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CHECKING IN WITH SIM (1:23 p.m.): One of the questions asked of Michael Sim this week was whether he was concerned about such a long layoff. Sim, of course, earned a battlefield promotion to the PGA TOUR with his three victories on the Nationwide Tour -- the last of which came just before the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup started, which Sim couldn't obviously participate in since he didn't qualify.
Sim, however, has been in similar situations this season. After missing the cut in New Zealand in March, Sim didn't play for the next two weeks. When he came back at the Stonebrae Classic, he won.
Similarly, after losing in a playoff at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic in April, Sim was off for nearly a month before returning to win the BMW Charity Open.
"I played a bit of golf when I was home in Australia. I did some hard work with my coach and just worked on my mental game and my pre-shot routine and just tried to stay as competitive as I can when I was at home," Sim said earlier this week. "I don't feel like I've lost the edge or anything."
We'll find out shortly -- Sim just teed of a few minutes ago. Click here to follow his round live with Shot Tracker. -- Brian Wacker
PETROVIC HOLDS ON, SCOTT HEATS UP (12:50 p.m.): Tim Petrovic just turned in a pretty clean 6-under 66 to take a one-shot lead. Adam Scott's scorecard is not as consistent, but he's getting it done.
Petrovic birdied two of his final three holes with a bogey sandwiched in between and fell two shots shy of the tournament course record held by Jeff Maggert and Jarrod Lyle. There are only a few guys in the morning groups that can still catch him.
Scott won't be one of those guys, but he has really picked it up over his last nine holes. Starting on the back nine, the most scrutinized player in the tournament double bogeyed No. 13 and bogeyed No. 16 surrounded by three birdies.
He's gone bogey-free since and birdied four more holes to get to 4 under and is tied for third. He just sank a 4-footer for birdie at the par-5 eighth. It looks like Scott is going to shoot in the 60s for just the second time in his last 11 rounds. There's a long way to go, but Greg Norman is breathing a little easier. -- Nick Zaccardi
FALL SERIES HEROES (12:30 p.m.): Of course, we'd all be thrilled to see Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and the rest of the stars play Fall Series events. But in their absence, unexpected performances like the ones we saw from Marc Turnesa, Cameron Beckman and Will MacKenzie last year can prove to be great stories.
Take Leif Olson, for example. Olson played in one PGA TOUR event (MC-'04 U.S. Open) prior to last year's q-school. He managed to finish tied for 18th at q-school to earn rookie status on TOUR this year.
He hasn't had many highlights in his first year so far, but he'll get plenty of chances in the Fall Series. Olson, 28, has raced out to 5 under through 12 holes in his first round, matching Tim Petrovic for the lead. -- Nick Zaccardi
STADLER CARDS 68 (12:15 p.m.): Kevin Stadler finished birdie-birdie to put the finishing touches on a round of 4-under 68 and move into second, one stroke behind Tim Petrovic. Stadler's round included a hole-out eagle from 117 yards on the par-5 eighth.
Stadler seems to have bounced back from a disappointing finish in the FedExCup Playoffs, where he missed two cuts and failed to break 70 in two tournaments before getting eliminated. He last made noise at the Wyndham Championship in August, where he and Jason Bohn lost to Ryan Moore in a playoff.
Like Petrovic, Stadler has his TOUR card secure for 2010. He's No. 88 on the money list. That's got to be a relief after he finished No. 124 in 2007, barely making the cut, and No. 145 a year ago. -- Nick Zaccardi
PETROVIC IN FRONT (11:50 a.m.): Unfazed by the cold temperatures, Tim Petrovic recorded a 5-under 31 on the back nine and has taken the early lead in Verona, N.Y.
He's at 6 under through 16 holes and three shots ahead of the field. Teeing off on No. 10, Petrovic birdied Nos. 12, 14, 15, 17 and 18. He made six straight pars on the front before another birdie on the par-4 seventh hole.
Petrovic was born in Massachusetts, so he's probably used to sub-50 degree golf. At No. 80 on the money list, he also doesn't have the pressure of playing for a TOUR card during the Fall Series. -- Nick Zaccardi
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN (11:45 a.m.): As mentioned, Harrison Frazar comes into this week sitting on the bubble at 125th on the money list, but the players who should be really concerned are those outside that number, starting with Chris Riley, on down to guys like Martin Laird and Chris DiMarco (135th and 136th, respectively).
Riley comes in having played a lot of good golf the last couple of months -- dating back to the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, he's had four top-20s in five events, including a tie for seventh in Milwaukee. DiMarco, on the other hand, has missed five of his last six cuts -- though he could use a one-time exemption of being in the top 50 on the career money list to secure his card for next season. -- Brian Wacker
TURNING STONE STORYLINES (11:30 a.m.): There are two main storylines at Turning Stone Resort this week: The first, which will be one for the next two months, involves those hovering around the 125 mark on the money list as players scramble to secure their PGA TOUR card for next year. The second is Adam Scott, who was a surprising Captain's Pick by Greg Norman for the International Presidents Cup team.
Let's start with Scott. He's playing this week for the first time since being eliminated from the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup following The Barclays. It's been a downright miserable year for the Aussie with 10 missed cuts and no finish higher than a tie for 33rd following his runner-up at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
So far, though, Scott, whose selection to the International team raised a lot of eyebrows, is playing well this week at 2 under through 11 holes this morning. Add to that the fact that his stroke-play struggles can be hidden in a team competition like The Presidents Cup and Scott's selection may end up working out.
As for this week's player on the bubble, Harrison Frazar comes in 125th on the money list and needs to finish there or higher to avoid q-school. Of course, Frazar won q-school last year so maybe he doesn't have much to worry about. Frazar will tee off just after Noon. -- Brian Wacker
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