WGC-HSBC Champions: First-round notebook

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Nick Watney's 31 on the back nine (his front nine) was the low 9-hole total of the first round, and spurred him to the first-round lead with an 8-under-par 64.

Related

Round 1 scores
Round 2 Tee Times
Photos: Round 1 photos
Daily Wrap-up: Round 1

• There were only three eagles on the day, all on the par-5 14th hole -- Watney (1), Nick Dougherty (T9) and Alvaro Quiros (T13).

• There were no bogey-free rounds.

• Watney posted the best birdie streak of the first round -- after making the turn, he birdied Nos. 1-4.

• The grouping of Watney (-8), Ian Poulter (even) and Martin Kaymer (-6) finished a combined 14-under-par in the first round.

• 20 of the 78 players in the field broke 70 in the first round. 37 players broke par while 47 were at par or better.

• Watney finished second to Phil Mickelson at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship in 2009, his best finish to date in three WGC starts. Watney finished 12th in the FedExCup on the strength of four top-10s, including a victory at the Buick Invitational.

• Watney is one of eight players from the United States in their 20s with two or more TOUR victories with Dustin Johnson, Troy Matteson, Lucas Glover, J.B. Holmes, D.J. Trahan, Sean O'Hair and Anthony Kim.

• Ryan Moore (T2) is competing in his first World Golf Championships event this week at the HSBC Champions. Moore qualified by winning the Wyndham Championship, the final event in the PGA TOUR Regular Season.

• Shane Lowry (T2) is playing in his second World Golf Championships event this week, having finished 77that the 2009 Bridgestone Invitational.

• Kim (T5) has rebounded from being disqualified at the 2008 HSBC Champions, having violated rule 4-3b. He played with a club (driver) that was damaged during the round not in the normal course of play.

• While this week's HSBC Champions event is considered "unofficial" on the PGA TOUR, Tiger Woods (T5) has 16 wins and 27 top-10 finishes in 30 World Golf Championships starts. He has at least one victory per season in a World Golf Championships event since the series' inception in 1999.

• Six players in the field have participated in all four of the previous HSBC Champions: Paul Casey, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Lian-Wei Zhang. Stenson and Harrington have the best finishes of that group with a T5 in 2008 for Stenson and T5 in 2007 for Harrington.

• HSBC Champions and the Official World Golf Ranking:
4 of top 5
7 of top 10
15 of top 20
18 of top 25

• The 2009 HSBC Champions includes the leading 13 players on Race to Dubai Ranking and three of the top-five finishers in the 2009 FedExCup

• The 23 countries represent the most international field of the World Championships events this year.