Nick O’Hern matched the course record at CordeValle on Thursday, shooting a 9-under 62 to take the lead at the Frys.com Open.

Jhonattan Vegas and Nicolas Colsaerts are three shots back and tied for second.

O’Hern made nine birdies and no bogeys in what was his lowest round of the year.

It couldn’t have come at a better time.

O’Hern came into the week 144th on the money list after just one top 10 and 12 missed cuts, including in five of his last seven starts, in 23 starts this season.

Thursday, the Aussie hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation and needed just 23 putts.

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM There is no question Davis Love III has the Ryder Cup on his mind. But the U.S. captain isn't only thinking about riding around in a golf cart and rooting on the team. No, Love has definitely entertained the idea of playing in the event -- something that may not be that far-fetched considering his recent play. The U.S. captain is in line for his best finish on the PGA TOUR this season after carding a 2-under 68 in the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic on Saturday to take a share of the 54-hole lead at 6 under in Memphis, Tenn. "I might just pick myself today and get it over with," Love, a 20-time PGA TOUR winner, told CBS after his round. "No, I’m excited about the way I’m playing. I am trying to make the team. Trying to work my way back up." Love, ranked 63rd in Ryder Cup points, would be the first captain to play in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963. He was tied with John Merrick (69) and Nick O'Hern (67), both of whom he is grouped with for a 8:54 a.m. local tee time. Golfers are teeing off earlier because of the threat of inclement weather in the afternoon. CBS will broadcast the event from 3 to 6 p.m. Eastern Time. Second-round leader Rory McIlroy carded a 2-over 72, struggling to keep his momentum in windy conditions while still ironing out the kinks of some swing changes that he's been working on. But McIlroy was within striking distance, making a birdie on the 18th hole to put himself one shot back with Dustin Johnson (67), Robert Allenby (67), Kevin Kisner (70), Chad Campbell (70) and Kevin Stadler (71). "It was a day where for me I took one step forward and two steps back," McIlroy said. "Every time I made a birdie, I followed it up with a bogey, felt like. It was testing out there, tough conditions and the wind was sort of swirling all over the place and made things tricky. I'm so happy to get back a birdie at the last and one off the lead going into tomorrow." The leaderboard was so crowded that 20 golfers were within four shots of the leaders. Merrick, the first-round leader, and O'Hern are both looking for their first PGA TOUR win. They are also looking to place in the top 25 for the first time this season. They'll be attempting to hold off players such as Johnson, McIlroy and J.B. Holmes (72) -- who was only two shots back and is more than capable of going low at TPC Southwind. The big-hitting Holmes carded a 6-under 29 on the front nine on Friday. For Love, 48, a victory this week would mean a lot. For starters, he hasn't won since 2008. It would also be an incredible accomplishment during an up-and-down season. After a decent start in 2012, Love suffered a torn rib muscle at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and was forced to withdraw. He didn't return until THE PLAYERS Championship and likely wasn't at full strength until last week, when he tied for 16th at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance. Then Love earned a spot in next week's U.S. Open -- which will be his 23rd appearance in the event -- by going through 36 holes of sectional qualifying on Monday. It sounds like a busy schedule. But as Love said, it beats sitting home on the couch with an injury and not being able to play at all. "(It would) be a lot of Ryder Cup points and get me back going, you know," Love said of a potential victory on Sunday. "Like I said, I started off the year ready to go and excited about the way I was playing and got knocked back a couple times with injuries. And the work has paid off, and I'm still hitting it far enough. I putted really well at Memorial and then the qualifier, so ... I know that I can, you know, I can still do it."

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The leaders didn’t have to be on the course long for the changes to begin showing up near the top of the leaderboard. Overnight leader Billy Horschel has birdied his first two holes at Sea Island and moved to 14 under, three clear of his playing partner Michael Thompson who also birdied No. 2 to reach 11 under. Nick O’Hern opened the day at 8 under, bogeyed his first hole, and now birdied three straight to reach 10 under and sit in third. Webb Simpson bogeyed No. 3 to fall to 9 under, five shots off the pace. There are five players currently tied for fifth, seven shots off the pace -- Ben Crane, Jeff Overton, Scott McCarron, Johnson Wagner and Louis Oosthuizen. All nine of the players mentioned above are currently playing the front nine at Sea Island. With the calm conditions right now, players are taking on the course in ideal scoring conditions.

Nick O’Hern is not only in good shape at the Reno-Tahoe Open -- he’s in the lead at the moment -- he’s also in position to make it to the first round of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

O’Hern was ranked 103rd in the FedExCup standings entering the week, and a good finish this week will all but lock up a spot for him.

Hunter Haas, currently tied for second place, is also in good standing -- he ranked 90th entering the week. A good finish at Montreux would likewise assure him for a spot in The Barclays in three weeks.

There are several other players near the lead that will need strong finishes this week if they hope to make the Playoffs:

-- Chris Riley, currently tied with Haas at 7 under, entered the week at 142nd in the standings. A second place finish could move Riley to 106th in the standings, and a win could move him as high as 78th.

-- Notah Begay has yet to make a cut in the three events he’s played on TOUR this year but after a second-round 67 he find himself at 6 under, one shot off the lead. A win this week could move him as high as 144th in the standings and within striking distance of the top 125.

-- Veteran Steve Elkington entered the week 215th in the standings and is tied with Begay at 6 under through two rounds. A win could put him on the FedExCup bubble, in the 125th position.

By Zak Kozuchowski, PGATOUR.COM There are 10 major champions in the field at the Reno-Tahoe Open, but only one of them is close to the lead in Round 1 at Montreux. Shaun Micheel, winner of the 2003 PGA Championship, shot a 68 to lead the group of past major champs. Micheel teed off on No. 10 at 7:22 a.m. MT, making him the only major champion to tee off in the morning wave. Clubhouse leader Nick O’Hern was the first player off the No. 1 tee this morning, which he said gave him an advantage. “First group out, so obviously I got nine very, very fresh greens, and smooth greens, which is nice,” O’Hern said. “The back nine they started to get a little bumpy. The poana is going to crop up later in the day, so those guys are gonna have it a little tougher.” The only other major champion under par is Todd Hamilton, who is currently 1 under through his first 8 holes. Other major champion scores: Jose Maria Olazabal: Even (through 11 holes) Justin Leonard: 1 over (through 12 holes) Ben Curtis: 2 over (F) Lee Janzen 2 over (through 13 holes) Steve Elkington: 2 over (through 12 holes) Rich Beem: 2 over (through 10 holes) John Daly: 3 over (through 10 holes) David Duval: 4 over (through 9 holes)

The switch of Montreux Golf and Country Club’s front and back nines was intended to add more drama to the finish on Sunday.

On Thursday, however, early leaders have taken advantage of the new finishing holes. The six players currently on top have played Nos. 16, 17 and 18 at a combined 8 under.

Current clubhouse leader Nick O’Hern birdied Nos. 17 and 18 to shoot a bogey-free 65. Steve Flesch, who shot a 4-under 68, also birdied the two finishing holes.

Vaughn Taylor is always happy to be back in Reno. The two-time Reno-Tahoe Open champion (2004, ‘05) is off to another good start at Montreux Golf and Country Club, sitting at 4 under through 14 holes in a bogey-free round so far.

The pace is being set at 5 under right now, with Nick O’Hern, Chris Riley and Dean Wilson at that mark. Wilson, in particular, could use a good week to solidify his date with the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. He’s 123rd in points.

If you’re wondering about the cutoff man at No. 125, that’s Australian Matt Jones. He’s 1 over through 10 holes in Reno.

Players returning to the Reno-Tahoe Open found a little bit of a twist with the switched nines at Montreux Golf and Country Club. Of course, it doesn’t take long for PGA TOUR pros to adjust and start firing at the flags.

Early in Round 1, Nick O’Hern took the lead with a 4 under trip through his first nine holes. The Australian is still searching for his first TOUR win, and just as importantly this week is looking to improve on his 103rd place in the FedExCup standings.

Also at 4 under through seven holes is Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA Champion. He doesn’t have a top-20 finish this season and is 178th in the FedExCup race.

By John Schwarb, PGATOUR.COM Site Producer

Sounds like the most incongruous of golf pairings, but it wasn’t far from coming to fruition Sunday at Augusta – the Green Jacket and the long putter.

Adam Scott fell a little short of capturing his first major at Augusta National, but if he had it would have also

been the first major for the long putter, the one-time curiosity that is becoming more mainstream on the PGA TOUR.

Tim Clark used one to win THE PLAYERS Championship last year and finished second with one in the 2006 Masters. Nick O’Hern and Scott McCarron also use long putters. Belly putters are even more prevalent, as we saw last month with Martin Laird and Spencer Levin using them while battling for the Arnold Palmer Invitational title.

When Jack Nicklaus won his signature sixth Green Jacket with an oversized-head Response ZT putter, the public bought thousands in the days afterward. Might the same thing have happened if Scott had won with his 49-inch Scotty Cameron Studio Select Kombi? Who knows.

But don’t expect to see Scott with anything else anytime soon. He put one in the bag earlier this year at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and it has more than earned its place.

“After I saw some putts going in, it wasn't really hard to change,” Scott said. “The rhythm with the long putter is very nice, and that's something I was fighting in my putting with the short putter. So I started practicing with it, and the more I practiced with it, the better it felt and the more putts I made and eventually it was a pretty easy decision that I should give it a run.”

Scott tied for third at the Masters and had 111 putts over four days, which tied him for third in the field behind Luke Donald and the winner, Charl Schwartzel.

MORE BELLY TALK: World No. 2 Lee Westwood couldn’t hide his disgust with his work on the greens at Augusta and went to a belly putter for the final round. The 2010 runner-up finished tied for 11th, shooting 74-70 for the weekend after a Friday 67 moved him into contention.

“To come so close last year and get myself in good shape this year and then, on the greens, it just makes me feel like pulling my hair out,” Westwood said. “I felt a little more comfortable (Sunday) with the belly putter. At least I made one 15-footer.”

Westwood added that he “didn’t see any future in the short (putter) for a while.”

ANOTHER TIGER PUTTER?: OK, maybe not yet. But this photo from his trip to China this week is amusing. Look closely and you’ll see Woods practicing a long-putter stroke with a standard-length putter.