Notebook: Round 1, Arnold Palmer Invitational

text size

Weather: Partly cloudy and breezy. High of 83 degrees. Winds SE 10-20 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph.

• Competing in his fifth consecutive Arnold Palmer Invitational, J.B. Holmes birdied his last hole, the ninth, to post a bogey-free 6-under 66 in round one for just his third sub-70 round in 17 rounds at Bay Hill (67/R2/2008, 69/R2/2009). He shares a 1-stroke lead with Davis Love III.

RELATED LINKS

Leaderboard: Round 1
Round 1 Wrap-up
Ross: Sleep-deprived Stenson
The Live Report: Round 1
Round 2 Tee Times
Video: XM interview: Holmes

• J.B. Holmes is making his eighth PGA TOUR start this week. Having yet to miss a cut in 2010, he posted a T3 at the Northern Trust Open, only to improve on that with a T2 a week later at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

• J.B. Holmes finished T61 at last week's Transitions Championship, closing with three rounds in the 70s.

• While J.B. Holmes found 10 of 14 fairways, he was virtually perfect finding greens in regulation, hitting 17 of 18.

• J.B. Holmes is off to a good start at earning a spot into this year's Masters Tournament. Currently ranked 58th, the top-50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings at the end of the Arnold Palmer Invitational earn a spot in the field at Augusta.

• The last time J.B. Holmes held a post-round lead was after 36 holes at this year's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where he finished T2.

• In the afternoon, Davis Love III sank a clutch 8-foot par-saving putt at the 18th to match J.B. Holmes' 6-under 66 and claim a share of the 18-hole lead.

• Competing in his 21stArnold Palmer Invitational dating to 1986, Davis Love III's 6-under 66 is his best round at Bay Hill since a 9-under 63 in the third round in 2000.

• Davis Love III's best finishes at Bay Hill are runner-ups in 1989 and 2000.

• In round one, Davis Love III tied the record for best birdie-eagle streak of the year by going birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie on holes two through six. He tied Lucas Glover's season record who played the 5-hole stretch of 9 through 13 in 6-under in round one of this year's SBS Championship in Hawaii.

• Davis Love III has previously held at least a share of a first-round lead 21 times, three of which resulted in victory. His most recent post-round lead was following round one of this year's Sony Open in Hawaii.

• Davis Love III has struggled with his game thus far in 2010. Of five previous starts, he finished T5 at the Sony Open in Hawaii in his first start of the year, but missed each of the next four cuts.

• Dating to 1979 when the event moved to Bay Hill, the first-round leader has held on for victory just seven times.

• Through the first 12 stroke-play events this year on the PGA TOUR, the first-round leader has gone on to win just twice. Ryan Palmer achieved the feat at the Sony Open in Hawaii and Dustin Johnson followed with his win at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

• Henrik Stenson shot a 5-under 67 to trail J.B. Holmes and Davis Love III by a stroke. Stenson is competing in just his second Arnold Palmer Invitational (T22/2002).

• Henrik Stenson has made just two PGA TOUR starts in 2010, both being World Golf Championships events. He finished T37 at the Accenture Match Play Championship and T33 in the CA Championship at Doral.

• Henrik Stenson has made three starts on the European Tour this year, with his best finish a T8 at the Dubai Desert Classic in February.

• After five birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine, Mike Weir posted a 5-under 67 to trail J.B. Holmes and Davis Love III by a stroke. Weir is making his seventh start at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

• Following a T7 at Bay Hill in 2000, Mike Weir did not compete in the event again until 2005. His 5-under 67 marks the first time he has broken 70 since round one in 2006 (69), a span of 13 rounds.

• Despite a double-bogey at the last, Robert Allenby managed to post a 4-under 68 to trail J.B. Holmes and Davis Love III by two strokes.

• Making his 12th start at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the highlight of Robert Allenby's round was holing a pitching wedge on the par-4 12th hole from 137 yards for an eagle-two.

• Robert Allenby's previous best finish at Bay Hill was fourth in 2006.

• Ernie Els made seven birdies en route to a 4-under 68 in round one. It marks his lowest opening round since the first round of the 2009 Verizon Heritage last April.

• Ernie Els is competing in his 16thArnold Palmer Invitational and first since 2007. Els won the event in 1998, his sixth of 17 PGA TOUR titles.

• Last week's Transitions Championship winner, Jim Furyk, opened with a 1-under 71.

• There are two amateurs competing in this week's field. 2009 U.S. Amateur champion Byeong-Hun An became the youngest winner of the national title when he won last August at Southern Hills. The other amateur is UCLA junior Gregor Main, who won the Southern Amateur Championship last July. An opened with a 5-over 77, while Main fired a 4-over 76.

• The top-10 in FedExCup points through the Zurich Classic of New Orleans are eligible for THE PLAYERS Championship (Rickie Fowler is 20, Alex Prugh 31, David Duval 36). Players beyond top-10 are eligible to fill the field if needed, which is how Jeff Klauk played in THE PLAYERS last year.

• The top-50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking following the Arnold Palmer Invitational will earn Masters invites, as will PGA TOUR winners not previously eligible. Here are the players at Bay Hill ranked between No. 45-75 who are not otherwise qualified for the Masters:

• Bay Hill Club and Lodge featured the second most difficult finishing three holes (Nos 16-17-18) on TOUR in 2009. It trailed Quail Hollow Club (Quail Hollow Championship) and was just ahead of Muirfield Village Golf Club (the Memorial Tournament).

• Six of the top-10 active players with the most PGA TOUR wins are playing in the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week.

• Scoring Averages:

• Bogey-free rounds: J.B. Holmes (66), Chris Dimarco (69), Boo Weekley (70)