First round notes: Q-school by the numbers

Seven pre-qualifiers, along with 13 first- and six second-stage regionals were held to reduce the field. A total of 173 players advanced to the final qualifying stage, which will consist of six rounds with no cut.

The top 25 players and ties will receive PGA TOUR cards for 2012. The next nearest-number-to-50 will earn fully exempt Nationwide Tour cards for the first 10 events in 2012, and the remainder of the field will receive conditional Nationwide Tour status.

Seven players qualified by making it through all three stages -- Gator "Richard" Todd, Glenn Northcutt, Wes Roach, Erik Flores, Jess Schutte, Travis Wadkins and Paul Haley.

• A total of 513 players teed off in the seven pre-qualifiers and competed for 258 spots (and ties).
• A total of 969 players teed off in the 13 first-stage qualifiers and competed for 284 spots (and ties).
• A total of 450 players teed off in the six second-stage qualifiers and competed for 122 spots (and ties).
• A total of 39 players were exempt into the final stage of the tournament.

FIRST ROUND NOTES

Weather: Highs approaching 80 degrees. Winds -- variable 5-10 mph.

The Coachella Valley has hosted the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament several times over the years. This is the fifth time that the current two-course rotation of the Nicklaus Tournament Course and TPC Stadium Course has been used.

The Qualifying Tournament was also in the area several previous years, using different course rotations.

In earlier years only one course was used for the Qualifying Tournament (records are incomplete):

Leaders at previous Qualifying Tournaments held at PGA West -- Nicklaus Tournament (NT)/TPC Stadium (SC):

Scores needed to secure PGA TOUR status at PGA West in previous years:

There are five 2011 Nationwide Tour graduates in the field hoping to improve their eligibility standings for the 2012 season. All five have earned PGA TOUR cards for next year. These players will not count toward the top 25 and ties who will earn their PGA TOUR card through Q-School, or against the next number nearest 50 to determine fully-exempt Nationwide Tour membership.

The five players attempting to improve their status for next year is not unprecedented. Most recently several players have successfully improved their status at this event:

Scott Verplank (1997), Frank Lickliter (2007) and Troy Merritt (2009) are the only players since 1992 to hold/share the lead after each round of the tournament. Verplank is the only player to hold the lead outright for all six rounds.

Of the 173-man field, Chris Tidland has the most appearances at final stage since 1990, with 13 starts. He opened on Wednesday with a 1-under 71 on the Stadium Course.

A total of 106 players in the starting field of 173 posted sub-par scores.
A total of 125 players in the starting field of 173 posted par-or-better scores.

A total of 55 players are making their first appearance at Q-School Finals. Of that group, several are near the top of the leaderboard: Mike Lavery (67/NT), Harris English (68/SC), Sam Saunders (68/NT), Will Wilcox (68/NT), Ryan Yip (68/NT), James Love (68/NT), Ben Briscoe (68/NT)

Three past Q-School medalists are participating this week PGA West: 2000 medalist Steve Allan (71/SC), 2003 medalist Mathias Gronberg (67/NT) and 2009 medalist Troy Merritt (70/NT).

The scoring averages for the two courses (both are par-72) --

The toughest holes on the two courses:

Bogey-free rounds during the first round:

64 Will Claxton (NT)
66 Mark Anderson (NT), Jeff Maggert (SC)
67 Shaun Micheel (NT), Dicky Price (SC)
68 Ron Whittaker (SC)
69 Andrew Johnson (NT)
70 Corey Nagy (NT)

Clark Dennis registered a hole-in-one at the 192-yard, 12th hole on the Nicklaus Tournament course. Dennis posted a 5-under 67.

Marc Turnesa withdrew after three holes due to a back injury. Turnesa finished No. 173 on the 2011 PGA TOUR money list.