The Daily Wrap-up, Round 1: Valero Texas Open

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May. 13, 2010
By Staff and Wire Reports

SAN ANTONIO -- Matt Jones eagled the par-5 14th hole and finished with a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead Thursday after the first round of the Valero Texas Open.

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Jones, the 30-year-old Australian who played at Arizona State, also had four birdies in a back-nine 30 on the Greg Norman-designed Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, the tournament's new site after 15 years at LaCantera.

Paul Stankowski opened with a 67, and J.B. Holmes, Matt Weibring, Charley Hoffman and Steve Lowery had 68s.

Ernie Els, a two-time winner this year, had a 72. He was 3 under on the final five holes, making a tap-in eagle on 14 after a 293-yard second shot.

"Obviously, this golf course is a little bit different than we play week in and week out, and I think to some of the players it's a little bit of a shock," Els said. "Back to even par, but I feel like, you know, it could have been a low score out there. The wind dropped for us."

Els' playing partner, Vijay Singh, left several putts just short, but finished with a birdie for a 73. Zach Johnson, the two-time defending champion, made a 7 on the par-3 13th and ended up with an 8-over 80.

Jones rebounded after making a double bogey on the first hole.

"A double wasn't the start we wanted, but the first hole is not an easy starting tee shot there at all," Jones said. "It's very narrow.

"After that, it was just a battle to get back to even par on the front nine, and then I made about a 30-footer for par on 11, which kind of kept me going. And from there on, we had six birdies and an eagle."

Jones hit a 3-wood approach from 276 yards to 8 feet on No. 14.

He birdied three of the four par 3s.

"With these greens, if you miss a tee shot you're working hard to par or birdie," Jones said. "If you miss a second shot, it's tough out of the bunkers and runoffs they have on the greens. These par 3s aren't easy. To have three birdies on par-3s is quite good."

Jones, whose best finish this season is a tie for seventh two weeks ago at Quail Hollow, teed off among the morning groups before the temperature on a humid, windy day climbed into the mid-80s.

Stankowski birdied five of his final 15 holes

"This would rival one of the most solid rounds I've played in years," Stankowski said. "I know in the wind, you have one option -- to go ahead and hit solid shots, and I did that today. This was a good day, and this is really how I would love to draw them every round."

Notables at the Valero Texas Open

Name	Score	Position	Comment	Friday tee time (ET)
J.B. Holmes	4 under	T3	Holmes finished strong, going birdie-eagle on his last two holes on a day he didn't putt all that well.	1:40 p.m.
Adam Scott	1 under	T25	It was a quiet day for the Aussie, who had two birdies and one bogey depite hitting just half his fairways.	1:40 p.m.
Ernie Els	E	T38	Els played his first 10 holes in 3 over before playing his last eight in 3 under with an eagle and a birdie.	8:50 a.m.
Sergio Garcia	1 over	T64	Garcia had a tough day with the flat stick, taking 32 putts on his way to three bogeys and two birdies.	1:50 p.m.
Zach Johnson	8 over	T152	The defending champion six-putted a hole and shot 41 on the front nine on his way to a baffling 80.	8:40 a.m.

Thursday's best

EASIEST HOLE	TOUGHEST HOLE
The par-4 fifth hole was the easiest with a Thursday scoring average of 3.718. EAGLES: 3 BIRDIES: 52 PARS: 89 BOGEYS: 10 OTHERS: 2	The par-4 fourth hole was the toughest with a Thursday scoring average of 4.571. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 11 PARS: 71 BOGEYS: 51 OTHERS: 23