FIRST ROUND Tidbits
Mar. 28, 2008
By Dave Senko, PGA TOUR Staff
PALM COAST, Fla. -- First-round leader
Lonnie Nielsen's Friday 6-under-par 66 matched his low round
of the season. He had also posted 66 in the final round in his
previous two starts.
Bernhard
Langer carded four birdies and an eagle in his opening
round. (Miller/WireImage)
|
INSIDE THE NUMBERS |
|
18-Hole
Leaderboard |
|
1. Lonnie Nielsen |
66 -6 |
|
T2. Bernhard
Langer |
67 -5 |
|
T2. Fred Funk |
67 -5 |
|
T4. David Edwards |
68 -4 |
|
T4. Gene E. Jones |
68 -4 |
|
T6. Tim Simpson |
69 -3 |
|
T6. Craig Stadler |
69 -3 |
|
• Friday also marked the first time Nielsen
held sole possession of the first-round lead since he opened
with a 6-under-par 66 at the 2005 Charles Schwab Cup
Championship.
• Nielsen's 6-under-par 66 was his 10th
consecutive round par/better. Of his 16 rounds in 2008, 15 of
those have been par/better.
•
Loren Roberts opened with a 1-under-par 71 on Friday, giving
him 19 consecutive rounds par/better, the longest current streak
on the Champions Tour.
•
Jay Haas' streak of consecutive sub-par round ended at 12
straight when he shot a 3-over-par 75 on Friday. That was the
best streak in that category this year on the Champions Tour.
•
Scott Simpson's streak of consecutive holes without a 3-putt
ended at 211 when he three-putted his opening hole. His streak
had been the best on the Champions Tour in 2008. Loren Roberts
started the day with a streak of 191 consecutive and increased
that to 193 before a three-putt at No. 3.
David Edwards now leads in the category at 146.
• The field averaged 73.692 on Friday, the
highest opening-round average so far in 2008 on the Champions
Tour. Last year the field averaged 72.833.
• Lonnie Nielsen had the fewest putts on
Friday (23), while
Tom Watson led all players in greens in regulation (15 of
18/83.3%). Nielsen also led in driving accuracy, hitting 13 of
14 fairways and had the most birdies (eight).
•
Bob Gilder
made his 100th consecutive start on the Champions Tour on
Friday. The last time he missed an event came at the 2004
Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn.
Dana Quigley
holds the all-time record for consecutive events played with
264.
• The most difficult hole was No. 13 with an
average score of 4.385 (+.385), while No. 12 was the second most
difficult with an average score of 3.333 (+.333). In addition,
Nos. 16 and 15 ranked third and fifth, respectively, in
difficulty. The easiest hole was No. 14 at 4.590 (-.410).
•
Sam Torrance
withdrew after playing just one hole on Friday due to a hand
injury. Ian
Woosnam made his Champions Tour debut on Friday and shot a
6-over-par 78.
• Defending champion
Keith Fergus
opened with a 2-under-par 70 and is tied for eighth. Monday
qualifier
Gene Jones shot a 4-under-par 68 and is currently tied for
fourth. |
