Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am: First-round notebook

text size

LUTZ, Fla. -- Larry Nelson's 6-under-par 65 on Friday is his best round on the Champions Tour since his 65 on the opening day of the 2007 Boeing Championship at Sandestin (June 1).

Serota/Getty Images

Hale Irwin carded his record 25th round under par in this event on Friday.

• Friday marked the first time Nelson has held sole possession of the first-round lead in a Champions Tour event since the 2001 SAS Championship. He went on to finish tied for sixth in Cary, N.C., that year.

• The 6-under 65 was Nelson's best opening round at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am since he posted 7-under 64 on Friday at the 2004 event. Nelson won this event in 1999 and finished solo second in 2004 at the TPC Tampa Bay.

• Since the tournament moved to the TPC Tampa Bay in 1992, Tom Watson (2008) is the only first-round leader who has gone on to win the tournament.

• Two three-time major champions on the PGA TOUR are at the top of the leaderboard after Round 1. Nelson is looking for his first victory since the 2004 Administaff Small Business Classic and Nick Price is trying to win for the first time in 39 career starts on the Champions Tour.

• World Golf Hall of Famer Price got off to a good start in his quest to win his first victory on the Champions Tour. Price's 5-under 66 was his best starting round on the Champions Tour since his 66 on Day 1 of last year's Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma, Calif. Price's score Friday was also his low overall round of the 2009 season.

• Two-time defending champion Watson opened with an even-par 71. Watson is trying to win the same event three consecutive years, something that's only happened five other times in the history of the Champions Tour. On the PGA TOUR, Watson won the 1978, 1979 and 1980 Byron Nelson Golf Classic.

• Two teams are tied at the top after the first round of the pro-am portion of the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. Catering magnate Lawrence Wosskow from Windemere, Fla., and his pro partner Mark McNulty posted a team score of 10-under 61. Wosskow and McNulty made eight net birdies and one net eagle.

• Richard Verrecchia, the director of beverage for OSI Restaurants, from Lutz, Fla., and his pro partner Mike McCullough also carded 61. McCullough's team had 11 net birdies and a net eagle. McCullough won the pro-am portion of this event with Steve Chapman, the CEO of Dupont Publishing in 2004.

• The field scoring average Friday was 72.342 with 17 rounds in the 60s. Last year, the opening-round stroke average was 71.480 with 19 rounds in the 60s. The most difficult hole Friday was No. 15 (4.553), while No. 12 was the easiest (4.592). Overall, there were seven eagles made Friday. Nelson and David Edwards had the only bogey-free rounds Friday.

• Hale Irwin, the 2005 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am champion, shot 2-under 69, his 18th career round in the 60s. Irwin also carded his 25th round under par in the event, the most by any player in tournament history.

• Jim Dent (77) teed it up for the 20th time at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. Dent tied Gary Player and Dale Douglass for the most appearances in tournament history.

• Brad Bryant was the only player in the field to hit all 14 fairways Friday. ... David Edwards led the field in Greens In Regulation, hitting 15 of the 18. ... Ronnie Black and Nelson had only 24 putts Friday and Morris Hatalsky had 11 one-putts. ... Black had the longest measured drive of the day, 327 yards at the par-4 14th hole. ... Bob Gilder, a winner in Tampa in 2001, made his 128th consecutive appearance in events he's been eligible for on the Champions Tour. Gilder shot 2-over 73 Friday.