Notebook: Round 1, Shell Houston Open

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Weather: Cloudy and breezy with a high of 78. S/SE winds at 15-25 mph with gusts up to 30 mph in the afternoon.

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Leaderboard: Round 1
Round 2 tee times
Round 1 Wrap-up
Live Report: Round 1
Taylor's Augusta quest
Interview transcripts
Photos: Round 1

Kevin Stadler and Cameron Percy share the first-round lead at the 2010 Shell Houston Open with 5-under 67s. They have a one-stroke advantage over Vaughn Taylor, James Driscoll, Kevin Sutherland and Anthony Kim. Nine players, including Phil Mickelson, are T7 at 3-under.

This is the second time Kevin Stadler has held the lead/co-lead after 18 holes in his career. Stadler shot 64 (-8) at the 2004 Buick Invitational to hold the outright lead, eventually finishing T59.

Cameron Percy has never held the lead/co-lead after any round in nine career starts on the PGA TOUR.

Only two of 13 first-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win in 2010 (Ryan Palmer/Sony Open in Hawaii, Dustin Johnson/AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am).

Kevin Stadler's 67 equals his third-best opening round this season (65/Northern Trust Open, 66/Waste Management Phoenix Open, 67/Bob Hope Classic, 67/Shell Houston Open).

Kevin Stadler's 5-under 67 is his lowest opening round in six appearances at the Shell Houston Open.

Kevin Stadler is currently 87thin the FedExCup standings. He has two top-10s and four top-20s in seven starts this year (T10/Northern Trust Open, T9/Mayakoba Golf Classic, T18/Bob Hope Classic, T17/Puerto Rico Open).

PGA TOUR rookie Cameron Percy of Australia is making his first appearance at the Shell Houston Open, his eighth start this year and just his ninth career start on TOUR (MC/2003 British Open). Percy graduated to the PGA TOUR by finishing in "The 25" (No. 8) on the 2009 Nationwide Tour money list

Cameron Percy hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation during his bogey-free, career-low 5-under 67.

Cameron Percy has posted sub-par opening rounds 5 of 8 times this season. His career-best finish is T46 at the 2010 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Cameron Percy was the last player to play with Tiger Woods in a tournament round. The pair played together in the final round of the 2009 JBWere Australian Masters, won by Woods. Percy finished T6.

Vaughn Taylor, Kevin Stadler and James Driscoll played in the same group, with each player posting six birdies in the opening round. Taylor and Stadler scored bogeys on the final hole.

Vaughn Taylor, a two-time PGA TOUR winner and Augusta, GA resident, needs a victory this week if he wants to contest the Masters Tournament at Augusta National in his hometown next week. Taylor has played in the Masters Tournament three times (2006/MC, 2007/T10, 2008/MC).

Vaughn Taylor is not the only player with Georgia ties near the top of the leaderboard. Others with Augusta on their minds include Bryce Molder, Nicholas Thompson and Matt Kuchar -- all Georgia Tech grads -- each posting 3-under 69s.

James Driscoll's 68 is his low round of the year. Driscoll, who posted his only top-10 in 2009 with a playoff loss to Zach Johnson at the Valero Texas Open, has four other rounds in the 60s this season -- all at the Waste Management Phoenix Open where he shot four rounds of 69 for his best finish this season (T36).

Kevin Sutherland (68) hit all 18 greens in regulation in the first round. Sutherland had never achieved this feat in 400 previous starts on the PGA TOUR.

Kevin Sutherland is making his 15th appearance at the Shell Houston Open with four top-10s and two missed cuts in his previous 14 starts. His best finish in this event is 2nd in 1997 when he also shot 68 in the first round.

Anthony Kim was 5-under through 17 holes before driving into the water hazard on No. 18, making a bogey to shoot 4-under 68. The round was Kim's best opening-round effort in four starts at Redstone GC's Tournament Course. Kim shot 70 in 2007, finishing T5 for his previous-best result here.

Anthony Kim finished 2ndbehind winner Camilo Villegas at The Honda Classic last month.

Lee Westwood posted a bogey-free 69 and is one of nine players at 3-under and T7. Last year, Westwood held the incomplete first-round lead after play was suspended at 12:50 p.m. due to high winds making the course unplayable. At the time, Westwood was 4-under through nine holes and slept on a two-stroke lead, eventually posting 69 the next day. He finished T11.

There are 30 players in the Shell Houston Open field this week also in The Masters Tournament next week.

Fifteen players are at 3-under or better. Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Adam Scott, Lee Westwood, Justin Leonard and Matt Kuchar, all in next week's Masters Tournament, posted 3-under 69s in the first round. Anthony Kim (68) is the only other player at 3-under or better after the first round who is in the Masters.

Fred Couples (71), the 2003 Shell Houston Open champion who has three consecutive victories on the Champions Tour this year, is one of two Champions Tour players in the field this week. Michael Allen (71), who was the only player in the morning wave to shoot a bogey-free round, is the other.

Ernie Els, who has won his last two starts on TOUR, shot 2-under 70 and is T16.

Davis Love III, needing a win to get into the Masters, recorded 8-over 80. The last time Love failed to break 80 in a TOUR event was the 80 he shot in the final round of the 2008 THE PLAYERS Championship.

Bogey-free rounds: Michael Allen (71), Lee Westwood (69), Cameron Percy (67).

The Kodak Challenge hole served up some punishment in the first round. Only seven birdies were recorded at the 18th hole on Thursday (25 birdies in round one of 2009) but a total of 24 balls ended up in the water. No. 18 was the most difficult hole in the first round.

The scoring average for the morning wave was 72.25 while the afternoon wave was 73.97. The first-round scoring average was 73.112, the highest first-round scoring average of 14 stroke-play tournaments this year.

Andrew McLardy (74), who got into the tournament when Rod Pampling withdrew on Thursday morning, hit his tee shot on No. 17 into a trash can. He missed the green with his approach shot on the 489-yard par-4 after benefiting from a free drop, but managed to get up-and-down to salvage par. McLardy sandwiched the par at 17 between birdies at Nos. 16 and 18.

Rod Pampling withdrew to be with his family after his father-in-law passed away.

Defending champion Paul Casey also withdrew before the start of play with a left shoulder injury and was replaced in the field by Steve Wheatcroft (72).

Vijay Singh withdrew after nine holes with a back injury, marking the third consecutive tournament from which he has withdrawn. Singh pulled out of the Transitions Championship 20 minutes before his tee time. He withdrew early in the week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

Greg Owen withdrew due to illness after the first round.