Bogey-free 63 puts Gutschewski ahead by one in Fort Smith  PGA TOUR Staff FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Scott Gutschewski opened with a bogey-free 7-under-par 63 to take a one-stroke lead over Paul Claxton, Brad Elder and Ron Whittaker after the first round of the $525,000 Fort Smith Classic presented by Stephens Inc.  Scott Gutschewski hit all 18 greens in regulation on Thursday. (Stan Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
The Nationwide Tour's ninth event of the season began under overcast skies and intermittent rain showers, but that did little to dampen Gutschewski's spirits after his best round of the season on either the PGA TOUR or Nationwide Tour. Highlighting his round was a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 11th hole. "It was a good day," said Gutschewski, who hit all 18 greens in regulation. "I played good today. Things are finally starting to come around for me. It is a crazy game. I don't feel like I'm doing anything different. You get a little confidence and it changes things." By his own admission, the 2007 season has been a struggle for Gutschewski, who posted his only Tour win at the 2003 Monterey Peninsula Classic. In six TOUR starts, a tie for 24th place at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans was his best showing in two made cuts. His only Nationwide Tour start this year resulted in a tie for sixth at the South Georgia Classic. "I just want to play," said Gutschewski, who lost his TOUR card in 2006 with a 167th place finish on the money list before gaining it back at q-school. "It is a tough spot to be in. I'm not getting in many tournaments. You want to play but yet you haven't played good enough when you've had the opportunity to improve your status. It is frustrating." Gutschewski, a 30-year-old native and long-time resident of Omaha, Neb., recently moved his family to Dallas, Texas. Should he win on Sunday -- which the first-round leader at the Fort Smith Classic has never done -- he'll have his wife, Amy, and their three children on hand to watch. "We drove up from Dallas in the RV with the three kids," said Gutschewski, who met with the media with his four-year-old son (Luke) and his two-year-old daughter (Isabelle) sitting on his lap. "It almost feels like a home tournament. But it is our first time with all three kids. I guess you could call it a test run. It is going okay so far. But that could be debatable depending on who you ask." Gutschewski has held the first-round lead on the Nationwide Tour three previous times, most recently at the 2005 LaSalle Bank Open where he finished tied for 46th place. His best outing after holding the first-round lead was a third-place finish at the 2003 Utah EnergySolutions Championship. 2002 Fort Smith Classic champions Todd Fischer and former University of Arkansas Razorback Craig Lile headline a group of seven players at 5-under 65. The others include Kris Cox, Michael Boyd, Jon Mills, Richard Johnson and Camilo Benedetti. Mark Brooks, winner of the 1996 PGA Championship, became the 10th player to play on the Nationwide Tour after winning a major championship on Thursday, as he opened with a 2-under 68. While playing a different Tour than the one he racked up 401 made cuts on since turning professional in 1983, Brooks actually found the course familiar. He defeated Jimmy Johnson in 36 holes at the 1979 Trans-Mississippi Golf Association Amateur Match Play Championship at this very same Hardscrabble Country Club. Other winners of the prestigious tournament -- which began in 1901 and rotates courses each year -- include Jack Nicklaus (1958 and 1959) and Ben Crenshaw (1972). Nicklaus joins Brooks as one of the previously mentioned 10 players to play on the Nationwide Tour after winning a major championship. First-Round News & Notes: Due to excessive rain over the past couple of days, players used preferred lies on Thursday ... The first-round leader has never gone on to win the Fort Smith Classic during the tournament's nine-year history ... Scott Gutschewski's leading score of 7-under 63 marks just the second time in 10 years that a score of 6-under 64 didn't lead after day one. The only other year without a 64 atop the standings was in 2004 when Jim Carter opened with a 62 ... There were six bogey-free rounds on Thursday: Scott Gutschewski (63), Brad Elder (64), Ron Whittaker (64), Tad Ridings (65), Brian Quackenbush (66) and Scott Dunlap (67) ... The toughest hole during the opening round was the par-4 seventh hole with a 4.192 average. The par-5 sixth hole ranked the easiest at 4.455 ... The opening round scoring average was 69.423, compared to 71.904 a year ago. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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