THE PLAYERS: First-round notebook

text size

Halleran/Getty Images

Scott Verplank exchanged high fistbumps with Richard S. Johnson Thursday after the first of Verplan'?s two eagles.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Ben Crane led the field with nine birdies on Thursday. Ben Crane made 14 one-putts in his round, tying the most one-putts by any player in the last 25 years at THE PLAYERS Championship.

• The first-round leader or co-leader has gone on to win THE PLAYERS 13 times since the tournament began in 1974 including each of the past two seasons since the tournament moved to a May date. Four of them have been wire-to-wire victories. The first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win five of 18 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR in 2009, most recently Phil Mickelson at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship.

• Rory McIlroy, making his PLAYERS debut this week, posted a 2-over-par 74. He went to No. 17 at 2 under par, but finished triple bogey (No. 17) and bogey (No. 18) to finish at 74. McIlroy turned 20 on May 4, and would be the youngest player to make the cut in PLAYERS Championship history -- Bobby Clampett made the cut in 1981 at 20 years, 334 days.

• Scott Verplank (tied for fifth at 5 under par) recorded a pair of eagles during Thursday's opening round. The first eagle came at the 449-yard, par-4 15th hole when Verplank holed it from 141 yards. It is the third eagle on the 15th hole since the tournament began at TPC Sawgrass in 1982. The second eagle was at the 532-yard, par-5 second hole after his 40-foot putt found the cup. Verplank had made just two eagles for the season before THE PLAYERS Championship (50th Bob Hope Classic/Round 3, Verizon Heritage/Round 4). Coincidently, both eagles were recorded at hole No. 2 at those events.

• Verplank is making his 17th appearance at THE PLAYERS, his best finish (tie for second) coming in 2005. His 5-under-par 67 is his best first-round score at this event.

• Camilo Villegas' opening 5-under-par 67 is his first sub-par opening round in THE PLAYERS Championship and marks his career-low round at TPC Sawgrass. His three previous opening round scores were 74 (2006), 80 (2007) and 74 (2008). Despite opening with a 2-over-par 74 in 2006, Villegas went on to finish tied for third, his career-best finish in THE PLAYERS, after firing rounds of 70-68-71 over the final 54 holes.

• Villegas has three top-10 performances in 10 events so far in 2009 highlighted by a T3 at the Buick Invitational and a tie for fifth at the CA Championship.

• Sergio Garcia, who is trying to become the first player to successfully defend a PLAYERS title, opened with a 1-under 71. The 29-year-old Spaniard is making his 10th career start at THE PLAYERS, with three top-10 finishes (win in 2008, tie for second in for 2007, tie for fourth in 2002) to his credit.

• Making his 12th start at THE PLAYERS, Tiger Woods broke par for the sixth time in the first round at the event. It's been 22 rounds since Woods last finished a round at TPC Sawgrass in the top 10. Woods' last top-10 finish in a round at THE PLAYERS was in 2001, when he won the event.

• Woods' streak of 22 straight rounds there without finishing in the top-10 is twice as long as his next longest streak at any course. Tiger had 11 straight rounds outside the top 10 at the PGA Championship from 2003 to 2005.

• With his eagle on the par-5 16th hole, Woods has now played the hole in 38 under par for his career at THE PLAYERS. His next-best hole is the par-5 second, which he has played at 22 under in 45 rounds.

• Woods made an eagle on the 16th hole Thursday (he began his round on the back nine) when he made a 3-foot, 2-inch putt on the par-5 hole. It was Woods' fourth career eagle on the hole and his ninth overall at THE PLAYERS, as well as his first first-round eagle at the event.

• D.A. Weibring withdrew six holes into his round due to a back injury. Oliver Wilson withdrew before the start of the round due to a rib injury, and Webb Simpson replaced him. Michael Campbell withdrew following nine holes due to an injured shoulder.

• David Toms' first top-10 of 2008 came at the Viking Classic in September. In 2009, he has four top-10 finishes already, the best being a tie for second at the Sony Open in Hawaii. This is Toms' 17th time appearing at THE PLAYERS. He has missed nine cuts in his previous 16 events, with his best finish a tie for 12th in 2001. The 5-under-par 67 is Toms' fourth round in the 60s in 47 rounds at TPC Sawgrass.

• Two-time champion (73) Davis Love III is making his 24th career PLAYERS start this week, tied for ninth all-time.

• Retief Goosen, who won earlier this year at the Transitions Championship, has made eight of nine cuts this year and is ranked 11th in the FedExCup standings. Goosen was a runner-up at the 2006 PLAYERS.

• The scoring average for the morning tee times was 71.69 while the afternoon scoring average was 72.47.

• Bubba Watson finished tied for second last week at the Quail Hollow Championship, matching his best finish of his career on the PGA TOUR. The runner-up finished move him from 79th to 32nd in the 2009 FedExCup standings, the week's biggest move. It marked his third runner-up of his career.

• Watson has missed the cut in both previous tries at this event. His opening round 6-under-66 is the first time he has broken par at THE PLAYERS.

• The Birdies for Charity program annually leads up to THE PLAYERS Championship and allows the community to support local charities through tracking the exciting, high-level of play during the tournament. Similar to a walk-a-thon, Birdies for Charity participants make a pledge to a local organization for each birdie made by professional golfers during THE PLAYERS. A record 68 local organizations are participating this year, up from 51 in 2008 and a strong indication that the generosity of First Coast residents will allow for a record fundraising effort. First-round birdies: 548 = $58,485.60

• Nine past champions of THE PLAYERS are competing this week, including 2008 Champion Garcia (71), 2007 champion Phil Mickelson (73), 2006 champion Stephen Ames (70), 2005 winner Fred Funk (73), 2004 victor Adam Scott (71), 1992 and 2003 winner Love (73), 1998 champion Justin Leonard (70), 1991 and 1997 champion Steve Elkington (73) and 1984 and 1996 winner Fred Couples (80).

• Of the 19 players making their first appearance at THE PLAYERS, Jeev Milka Singh got off to the best start on Thursday with a 4-under-par 68. Throughout the 34-year history of THE PLAYERS, Jack Nicklaus (1974), Hal Sutton (1983) and Craig Perks (2002) are the only players to win the tournament in their first attempt.

• A total of 14 balls were hit in the water off of the tee on the famed 17th hole on Thursday. Interestingly enough, there were 18 balls hit in the water on the par-3 13th hole on Thursday.