Quick hits at Quail Hollow: Bohn, Flanagan, Johnson and more

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An inch went a long way for Jason Bohn on Thursday during the first round of the Wachovia Championship.

Jason Bohn is playing with a lot less stress this week. (Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

He'd been struggling with his putting recently so Bohn switched to a putter that, at 35 inches, was one inch longer than the one he had been using. On Tuesday, Bohn and his putting coach devoted several hours to perfecting his stroke -- and it paid off with a 68.

"I (also) made an adjustment with my left hand in my grip. I strengthened my left hand a little bit and really paid attention to my ball position," Bohn said.

Not only does Bohn feel more comfortable -- "I've started to hit my putts a lot more solidly and on my line that I'm looking at," he said -- but his stats looked dramatically improved after one round.

He made 16 of his 17 putts that were less than 10 feet and ranked third after the first day in the average distance of his made putts. Before this week, Bohn was 89th on TOUR in converting putts between five and 10 feet and 153rd in average distance of putts made.

Bohn has missed the cut four times this season but finished inside the top 25 three times, as well. He's currently tied for second at Quail Hollow.

"It's either Jekyll or Hyde with me right now. It seems I play well or don't play so well," he said.

The Bohn Ultimatum

Make $257,668 in 12 events or forfeit his PGA TOUR card for 2008.

That's what Bohn faced when two stress fractures in his ribs placed him on the disabled list after the 2007 Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley. His Major Medical Extension gave him a dozen events this year to equal No. 125 on the 2007 Money List and retain his TOUR exemption.

A tie for sixth at the Verizon Heritage placed him safely on the TOUR with five events to spare.

"It's a big relief off the shoulders and now I can just play the rest of the year," Bohn said, cracking a dimpled smile. "...The big thing for me is I wasn't eligible to play THE PLAYERS Championship next week, so that enables me now to play THE PLAYERS Championship."

The same week Bohn injured his ribs, his wife found out she was pregnant with their second child.

"The big pressure for me is I had my second son two months ago, so now I'm (looking at) double diapers," Bohn said. "I've got to play good, period. That's way more pressure than making my medical."

Time for Tee

Heavy rains drenched the Charlotte area at the start of the week and left a softer-than-expected course in their wake. On Thursday, however, the warm spring sun beat down on the grounds at Quail Hollow Club and helped quicken the drying process.

Naturally, conditions got firmer and faster as the day progressed and TOUR players with afternoon tee times faced a tougher test. Of the top 10 players on the leaderboard after the first day, the top seven had morning tee times.

"The greens are probably speeding up, getting a little bit firmer," explained Ben Curtis, one of the few players from the afternoon in the top 10.

Varying and, at times, brisk winds also gave players a challenge after lunch. There are benefits to having a later tee time on the first day, though.

"I think every week you'd like to go late-early because, if you don't play well, you can get out of town and go home," Curtis said.

Count Zach Johnson among those who'd prefer to snooze the morning away, though.

"It's tough when you tee off at 7:50 a.m.," Johnson said. "I'm not much of a morning person. Getting up at 5 a.m. is not my favorite."

Striving for Sawgrass

Nick Flanagan hoping to hit the highway for Sawgrass next week. (Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

The Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Interstate 95 will be crowded on Sunday night as players head south from North Carolina to Florida for THE PLAYERS Championship.

Nearly 20 players at this week's Wachovia Championship, however, won't take that route. At this point, only a win at Quail Hollow would get them into the PGA TOUR's signature event.

Nick Flanagan has the best chance for an 11th-hour entrance after shooting a 69 on Thursday that left him two strokes off the pace set by David Toms.

Flanagan was the hottest player on the Nationwide Tour in 2007, winning three times to earn an automatic promotion to the PGA TOUR. He subsequently posted two top 20s and missed two cuts to close out the year.

So far in 2008, his first full season on the PGA TOUR, though, Flanagan has only made five cuts in 12 tries.

"This year has been a bit of a struggle so far," acknowledged Flanagan, who made six birdies and three bogeys on Thursday. A 15-footer for birdie at No. 18 caught the edge of the hole but slid past, leaving him stuck in a tie for fourth.

"I obviously had a career year last year, and I'm just trying to get back into that frame of mind, just hitting greens and letting it happen. ... I've been playing well the past couple weeks, so hopefully I can keep it going for a little longer."

Other notables not in THE PLAYERS include former champions David Duval and Fred Couples, as well as Billy Andrade, Lee Janzen and Joe Durant.

How low can they go?

The further scores go into the red this week, the more Wachovia customers will see green. As part of their Save Like A Champion promotion, the bank will match the monthly interest rate to the final under-par score at the Wachovia Championship.

This only applies to customers with a Way2Save account, an automatic savings program that transfers $1 into a savings account when customers use their check cards or make payments online. The special interest rate will only occur in June, July and August.

If David Toms were to repeat his winning performance from 2003 and win at 10-under par, a 10 percent interest rate would apply to the savings account.

The last time the prime interest rate was that beneficial? January 1990.