First round: Marino on top after bogey-free round
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) -- Steve Marino had to consider it a treat the few times he played Congressional as a teenager. It was a thrill on Thursday to play bogey-free in the first round of the AT&T National and shoot 5-under 65 for a one-shot lead.
Marino, who grew up a half-hour away in Fairfax, Va., birdied three of his opening four holes, never had a par putt longer than 5 feet and finished off his round with an 8-foot birdie to be in the lead after any round for only the second time in his career.
"I played a bunch of junior golf growing up here, all over the D.C. area, so it feels great to get off to this good start," Marino said. "And I'm looking forward to the rest of the week."
It's already been a big week for Jeff Overton and Frank Lickliter, who were among those at 66.
Overton had missed six of his last seven cuts, working harder than ever with nothing to show for it, until the 36-hole qualifier Monday outside Detroit for the British Open. He was the medalist, earning his first trip to a major.
"It just carried over from there," he said.
Lickliter, whose wife gave birth to twin sons in January, took them to Christ Church in Georgetown to have Storm and Steel christened.
"It was fantastic," he said. "We celebrated all day, so there went practice on Wednesday."
But it must have been inspirational for Lickliter, who had not made a cut in his last six tournaments dating to the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. After four birdies on his front nine, he recovered from a pair of bogeys with consecutive bogeys, including a 5-iron that was among the best he ever hit.
He hit a big drive on the 522-yard sixth hole, converted to a par 4 for this tournament, then hit a 5-iron from 210 yards over the water to about 12 feet from the flag.
"Best shot I've hit in the last four years," he said.
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BEGAY THRILLED BY STELLAR START
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
BETHESDA, Md. -- To put it bluntly, Thursday's 67 at Congressional Country Club came as "one hell of a surprise" to Notah Begay III.
After all, AT&T National was only his fourth PGA TOUR event of the season. He's still on the comeback trail, too, after a ruptured disk in his lower back last year left Begay wondering if he'd ever be able to play again.
So to see his name among the first-round leaders at the AT&T National hosted by his good friend and Stanford teammate Tiger Woods was an unexpected bonus. Begay was two strokes off the lead held by his playing partner, Steve Marino, after that opening 67.
"We were kind of feeding off each other," Begay said. "He hit some really nice shots in there. I would follow him up and vice versa. Both Steve and John (Merrick), they are great young players, and it's fun to get to know the young guys,
"Just to see them and how they play, it's encouraging. These guys hit it so far, and I wasn't too far behind them. I didn't feel like the old guy out there."
At 35, Begay is hardly ready for the Champions Tour, and he won't be drawing Social Security checks anytime soon, either. Given his chronic back problems, though, he probably feels that way sometimes.
New trainers, new doctors and a different swing coach put Begay back on the road to recovery. Daily doses of anti-inflammatory drugs and exercise keep him moving forward and "as long as I ... don't get too fat, I'll be okay," Begay said with a grin.
The road back to the PGA TOUR, though, has been more problematic for the four-time champ who lost his exempt status in 2004. When healthy, he's played around the world on the European Tour, Nationwide Tour and various mini-tours, as well as the occasional PGA TOUR event.
So why does Begay do it?
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| Thursday's Best |
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The 579-yard par-5 16th hole played 0.218 strokes under par on Thursday with a 4.782 scoring average.
This tough 489-yard par-4 hole had a 4.496 scoring average in the first round at Congressional Country Club.
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Though the rest of his day didn't go as well -- Goggin is 3 over -- he did notch Thursday's lone eagle. Luckily, our cameras caught his exciting eagle as well as every other shot from the par-5 16th hole. To watch Thursday's LIVE@ highlights, 
Steve Marino's bogey-free 65 gave him the first-round lead at AT&T National. He made three birdies in his first four holes and quickly rose up the ranks. Marino is looking for his first PGA TOUR win and shouldn't have any trouble getting it if he keeps going this low.| Quote of the Day | ||
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OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW
This time he didn't find it in a mall in Oklahoma.
Anthony Kim, who fired a 67 in the first round of AT&T National, will be debuting a new belt buckle sometime this weekend.
Kim, whose current trademark is an oversized buckle emblazoned with his nickname AK, declined to give reporters a sneak preview.
"You know, I can't. It's that nice," Kim said, grinning. "I actually had to get insurance on this thing; that's how nice it is. So it will be here on the weekend."
A MUCH-NEEDED BREAK
Kim's win at the Wachovia Championship did more than fatten his bank account and give him the security of a two-year PGA TOUR exemption.
The talented young Californian has been able to take some time off and prepare himself for the summer's stretch run. He celebrated his 23rd birthday the week after the U.S. Open, which was his only start in the five weeks leading up to AT&T National.
"(The win) definitely helped me prepare for this FedExCup," Kim said. "It gave me some vacation time. ... I feel really refreshed and I'm eager to come out here and contend and play some good golf.
"So it gave me the luxury of taking some time off and preparing the right way to attack this FedExCup."
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WILL HE WIN AGAIN?
K.J. Choi shot his fifth straight round of par or better at Congressional on Thursday and he's in the hunt for a successful title defense, as a result.
Choi's round of 68 -- his target score, he said -- left him three strokes off the lead held by Steve Marino. The Korean shot 9 under in winning the inaugural event last year.
After a 2007 season in which he won both Tiger Woods' tournament at AT&T National and Jack Nicklaus' event (the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley), Choi picked up a win at the Sony Open in Hawaii in early 2008. However, he's missed the cut in three of his last four starts and is hoping for a strong showing in Maryland.
LOCAL RIVALRY
Tiger Woods may not be here, but Washington, D.C., area fans have plenty to root for at AT&T National.
Steve Marino, who leads at 5 under, is from nearby Fairfax, Va., while Fred Funk, who is five strokes behind after a round of 70, was born in Takoma Park, Md. He was the golf coach at the University of Maryland before he turned pro, too.
Imagine what would happen if the two should happen to be in the same group come Sunday.
"I think we'll have a little border war," Funk said. "We'll be the North and the South."
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Marino, whose family still lives in Fairfax, agreed that the crowds would be big. "I like Fred," he said. "He's a good guy, but we'll see. Hopefully, both of us can stay up there the rest of the week."
Right now, Marino is just looking forward to seeing what happens the rest of the week. The second-year pro is looking for his first TOUR win and he gave his friends plenty to cheer about when he didn't make a bogey Thursday.
"I got some crazy friends that came out to watch me this week and today, I think it's safe to say it was probably going to be the mildest day, especially if I keep playing well," he said.
"I know tomorrow is July 4th, and I'm teeing off in the afternoon; so that gives them plenty of time for them to get looped up for tomorrow. But yeah, they are rowdy, but it definitely feels good to have them out there supporting me, and it's fun.
"When you have got people out there yelling and screaming, it kind of takes your mind off things, and makes you laugh a little bit."
THE BRITISH OPEN IS COMING
The top two from the "British Open money list" are exempt for British Open after the completion of the AT&T National. This "British Open money list" includes PLAYERS Championship earnings plus winnings at the Stanford St. Jude Championship, U.S. Open, Travelers Championship, Buick Open and AT&T National. If a player does not use the exemption, the exemption is NOT passed on to the next player.
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THINGS TO WATCH ON FRIDAY
1. Stuart Appleby. The 1998 Kemper Open champ came thisclose to winning last year and is dangerously close to the lead again after a first-round 67. Bethesda, Md., is pretty far from Hawaii, where Appleby tends to win on the PGA TOUR, but he should cruise up the leaderboard over the next few days.
2. Anthony Kim's belt buckle? He has us just dying to know what his latest belt buckle will look like. Though it probably won't debut until Sunday, maybe he'll throw everyone for a loop and bring it out early.
3. Davis Love III. Someone's bound to produce on-course fireworks and shoot up the leaderboard as the U.S. celebrates its birthday. Who better than Love? He recently qualified for the British Open and seems to be returning to his pre-injury form.
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