Bob Hope Classic: First-round notebook

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LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Pat Perez shot an 11-under par 61 on the Palmer Course to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer. Perez's round included 10 birdies, an eagle and a bogey.

• Perez has a history of going low at the Bob Hope Classic, shooting a 12-under 60 during the first round in 2006 on the Palmer Course and an 11-under 61 in the second round at the 2003 on Bermuda Dunes Country Club. Although Perez has a history of turning in low rounds at this event he has not finished in the top-5 in five previous appearances at this event.

Condon/PGA TOUR

Bubba Watson fired a personal-best round Wednesday with a 10-under 62.

Watson after 18 holes

Stats Rd. 1 Total Rank Eagles 1 1 T1 Birdies 8 8 T7 Pars 9 9 T98 Bogeys -- 0 N/A Double bogeys -- 0 N/A Other -- 0 N/A Driving accuracy 69 69.2 T80 Driving distance 318.0 318.0 T12 Putts per round 25 25.0 T9 Putts per GIR 1.533 1.533 T20 Greens in REG 83 83.3 T30

• Teeing off his round at No. 10 on the Palmer Course, Perez fired an 8-under 28 over his first nine holes. Robert Gamez set the tournament record for lowest nine holes in 2004 with a 27 at Indian Wells CC. The PGA TOUR record for low 9 holes is a 26 set by Corey Pavin in 2006.

• Perez has held the first-round lead once in his seven-year PGA TOUR career (first-round of the 2006 Bob Hope Classic, 60). Perez is looking for his first win on TOUR (198 career starts). His best finishes came in 2002 with a second-place finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach and a tie for second at the Buick Classic.

• Mike Weir eagled the par-5 18th hole on the Palmer Course to close with a first-round, 10-under 62. Weir's career-best round was a first-round 61 at the 2008 Deutsche Bank Championship.

• Weir's previous best round at the Bob Hope Classic was a 64 during the second round on the Palmer Course in 2003, which is the year he won the tournament.

• Bubba Watson's 10-under 62 on the Palmer Course is a personal-best round. His previous best round on TOUR was a 64 at the 2007 Shell Houston Open, where he turned in his career-best finish (tied for second). Watson also recorded a tie for second at the 2008 Buick Open. This is Watson's third appearance at the Bob Hope Classic (missed cut-2007, tie for 26th-2008).

• Briny Baird shot a 9-under 63 on the Palmer Course. Baird has registered a career-best 62 four times on TOUR with the most recent coming at the 2008 Wyndham Championship. Baird has not finished in the top-three at an event since a tie for second at the 2004 FUNAI Classic at Disney.

• Vaughn Taylor fired a 9-under 63 at Bermuda Dunes CC to tie his career-best round. Taylor has recorded a 63 three other times on TOUR most recently at the 2006 Buick Open.

• Ben Crane turned in a 9-under 63 on the Nicklaus Course. Crane's best round was a 62 at the 2005 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.

• Richard S. Johnson matched his career-best round with a 63 on the Nicklaus Course. Johnson's other 63 came during the first round last year at the U.S. Bank Championship, which he went on to win for his first TOUR victory.

• Rick Price turned in the best round of the day for a TOUR rookie with an 8-under 64 on the Nicklaus Course (tied for 10th). Price, a 41-year-old rookie, missed the cut last week at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He had two previous starts on TOUR, both times missing the cut (1990 Hardee's Golf Classic and 1991 U.S. Open).

• In a day of low scoring, David Duval, who shot one of the TOUR's three rounds of 59 at the 1999 Bob Hope Classic, finished at 4-under 68 after the first round. Al Geiberger (1977) and Chip Beck (1991) are the only other players in TOUR history to shoot a 59.

• 2008 PGA TOUR q-school graduates David Berganio, Jr. and Jason Dufner both shot rounds of 9-under 63 (tied for fourth).

• Only six players finished the first-round over par at the Bob Hope Classic, with four of the golfers at 1 over.