First-round notebook – Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
* Troy Matteson, who won the 2006 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, shot a career-best 62 in the first round today. His previous best round was a 63 at the 2008 Children’s Miracle Network Classic.* Matteson has held two other first-round leads/co-leads in his Tour career including the 2008 Children’s Miracle Network Classic (T6) and the 2008 Buick Invitational (T11).
* In his last 12 October starts dating back to 2006, Matteson has seven top-10 finishes. He has been in the top-30 in nine of his last 12 October starts.
* After winning his first start in Las Vegas in 2006, Matteson has missed the cut his last two starts here (2007 and 2008).
* Levin’s 62 is a career-best round on Tour. His previous best was a 63 earlier this year in Milwaukee.
* Levin has never held a first-round lead on Tour. He was T2 after the first round of the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open earlier this year, but finished T63.
* Pernice’s 62 equals his career-best round from the 2005 Children’s Miracle Network Classic where he finished second behind Lucas Glover. Pernice shot a pair of 63s earlier this year at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the 50th Bob Hope Classic.
* It is Pernice’s second career first-round lead/co-lead. Pernice held the co-lead at the 1999 Bob Hope Classic before finishing T13.
* Pernice is making his 529thstart on the PGA Tour. He has one career start on the Champions Tour, which he won last month at the SAS Championship.
* Pernice is making his 18thcareer start in Las Vegas dating back to 1986. Both of Pernice’s top 10s in Las Vegas have come in the last three years (T7 in 2006 and T8 in 2008).
* Tom Pernice, Jr. is looking to join Raymond Floyd (1992), Craig Stadler (2003) and Fred Funk (2007) as players to win on both the Champions Tour and PGA Tour in the same season.
* No official record exists of the lowest round on Tour by a player over 50, but Fred Funk shot a 62 in the first round when he won the 2007 Mayakoba Golf Classic and Craig Stadler had a 63 in the final-round when he won the 2003 B.C. Open, both at the age of 50.
* Martin Laird, who finished No. 125 on the 2008 money list in his rookie season, is looking for his second top-2 finish in the state of Nevada this season. Laird finished T2 earlier this year at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. Last season, Laird finished T4 at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open and finished T47 at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
* Laird’s 63 matches his career-best round set at the 2008 Wyndham Championship (T4).
* Playing in his 18th Tour event of the season, Bob Heintz is looking for his second top 10. Heintz finished T8 earlier this year at the Buick Open.
* Bob Heintz’s 63 matched his career-best round on Tour from the 2008 Wyndham Championship (T53).
* Heintz’s best finishes on Tour are T5s at the 2005 Valero Texas Open, 2007 U.S. Bank Championship and 2007 Canadian Open.
* Heintz, who got in the field on Wednesday as the third alternate, missed the cut in his last Las Vegas start in 2007 and finished T58 in 2005.
* Below is where the top four players after the first-round of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open stand on the season money list:
T1 Tom Pernice, Jr. 161
T1 Troy Matteson 132
T1 Spencer Levin 139
T2 Bob Heintz 182
T2 Martin Laird 134
* Jim Furyk (64), a three-time winner of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (1995, 1998-1999), turned in his second-best round of the season. Furyk shot a 63 in the first-round of the Deutsche Bank Championship on his way to a T8 finish.
* Furyk’s Tournament-best score is a 63 when he won in 1998. Furyk has only missed the cut one time at this Tournament in 13 previous appearances. He has finished in the top 25 all other 12 times.
* Furyk is making his first start in Las Vegas since 2006.
* PGA Tour rookie and Las Vegas native Scott Piercy tied his career-best round with a 7-under 64. Piercy also had a 64 earlier this year at the Buick Open (T28) and at the 2006 Reno-Tahoe Open (T63).
* With his wife Sara expected to go into labor any day, Piercy is making the most of his fourth start at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He missed the cut in 2007, finished T44 in 2006 and T58 in 2005. His previous low round at this event was a 65 in 2005.
* Stuart Appleby (T70), No. 130 on the money list, has not finished below No. 55 on the final Tour money list since his rookie year in 1996 (12 straight seasons). Appleby, who has only one top-10 finish this season, has had three or more top 10s every season since 1996 when he had one. Appleby has two top-25 finishes this season, which is the worst of his career. His five top 25s in 1996 were his previous career low.
* The PGA Tour’s Fall Series events are a time for players to move into the top 125 on the money list and earn full exempt status on the Tour in 2010. Australian Matt Jones is in the No. 125 spot coming into the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Below are player’s ranked No. 125-130 before the Shriners event and their current standing:
No. Before Turning Stone Player Current Standing at Shriners
125 Matt Jones DNP
126 Bill Lunde T38
127 Todd Hamilton T125
128 Chris Riley T112
129 Chris Stroud T52
130 Stuart Appleby T70
* No rookie has won on Tour this year – something that hasn’t happened since 1998, when Steve Flesch won Rookie of the Year honors. At 44th on the money list, Australian Marc Leishman leads all rookies. Leishman was the only rookie to play in THE Tour Championship and finished 20th in the FedExCup standings. Other rookies that are playing well this season include:
Player Money List Standing First-Round
Marc Leishman 44 T125 (+4)
Webb Simpson 71 T112 (+2)
Jeff Klauk 82 T8 (-6)
James Nitties 89 WD
Scott Piercy 86 T6 (-7)
Matt Bettencourt 106 130 (+6)
Bill Lunde 126 T38 (-3)
Aron Price 138 T96 (+1)
* Last year, six of the seven Fall Series winners were at No.125 or higher on the money list prior to their win. The complete list of winners from the 2008 Fall Series includes:
Tournament Champion $ prior to win $ after win
Viking Classic Will MacKenzie No. 178 No. 97
Turning Stone Dustin Johnson No. 128 No. 41
Valero Texas Open Zach Johnson No. 125 No. 55
Justin Timberlake Marc Turnesa No. 138 No. 75
Frys.com Open Cameron Beckman No. 175 No. 86
Ginn sur Mer Classic Ryan Palmer No. 143 No. 73
Children’s Miracle Davis Love III No. 118 No. 48
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