Wachovia Championship: First-Round Notebook

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May. 1, 2008
By Stewart Moore, PGA TOUR Staff

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- 2003 Wachovia Championship winner David Toms fired a first-round 67 on Thursday, his lowest round to par on the PGA TOUR since a second-round, 5-under 65 at the 2007 Travelers Championship vaulted him into a tie for the 36-hole lead with Jay Williamson.

Geoff Ogilvy had the only bogey-free round of the day. (Greenwood/WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

18-Hole Leaderboard

Player	Score
1. David Toms	67 -3
T2. Jason Bohn	68 -2
T2. Phil Mickelson	68 -2
T4. John Merrick	69 -1
T4. Vaughn Taylor	69 -1
T4. Zach Johnson	69 -1
T4. Nick Flanagan	69 -1
T4. Camilo Villegas	69 -1
T4. Ben Curtis	69 -1
T4. Stephen Ames	69 -1
T4. Jeff Quinney	69 -1
T4. Steve Marino	69 -1

• Toms is the only past Wachovia Championship winner who does not have at least one other top-10 finish to his name at the Quail Hollow Club. Joey Sindelar (tied for sixth-2006), Vijay Singh (three times-2003, 2004, 2007), Jim Furyk (tied for second-2005), and Tiger Woods (tied for third-2004) have all recorded at least one top-10 at the Wachovia Championship outside of the year in which they won.

• Toms' round of 67 Thursday is just the fifth time he has carded a round in the 60s in his last 36 rounds on the PGA TOUR, dating back to a final-round 71 in the 2007 Travelers Championship.

• Toms' round of 67 included eight birdies, which is two shy of the Wachovia Championship record of 10 set by Retief Goosen in the third round in 2006.

• Phil Mickelson opened his fifth Wachovia Championship with a round of 68 on Thursday. The 33-time PGA TOUR winner has the most top-10 finishes (3) at the Wachovia Championship of any player not to have won the event.

• The last time Mickelson won on the PGA TOUR when sitting in second place through 18 holes was at the 2000 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, when he trailed John Cook by one shot after the first round before eventually winning by two shots over Stewart Cink and Davis Love III.

• Jason Bohn's first-round 68 carries a bit of deja vu with it as he began last year's Wachovia Championship with a round of 67 and found himself in an identical position (tied for second) through one round.

• Jason Bohn entered the 2008 season on a Major Medical Extension following a rib injury at the 2007 Memorial Tournament that limited him to just 17 starts in 2007. Bohn had 12 events to earn $257,668, which would combine with 2007 earnings of $527,512 to equal 2007's No. 125 earnings of $785,180 and in turn grant him Major Medical Extension status for the remainder of the 2008 season. Bohn's sixth-place finish two weeks ago at the Verizon Heritage was worth $198,000 and in turn pushed his 2008 earnings past the $257,668 mark, thus giving him Major Medical status for the rest of the season.

• The only first-round leader/co-leader to go on and win the Wachovia Championship was Jim Furyk in 2006, when a first-round 68 left him tied with Bill Haas, Rory Sabbatini and Trevor Immelman.

• 2007 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year Nick Flanagan carded a first-round 69 and finds himself tied for fourth through 18 holes, which marks the lowest standing after 18 holes in his 28 career PGA TOUR starts. Flanagan briefly played the Charlotte-based Tarheel Tour in 2005 before gaining exempt status on the Nationwide Tour for the 2006 season.

• Historically speaking, two-time PGA TOUR winner Vaughn Taylor is either on or off at the Wachovia Championship. Taylor finished tied for fifth in 2005 and tied for sixth in 2006, but missed the cut in 2004 and 2007. Taylor's round of 69 on Friday was a nice change of pace after entering the week with four missed cuts in a row.

• Second-year PGA TOUR player John Merrick continued his solid play in 2008 with a first-round 69 on Thursday. Merrick finished No. 135 on the 2007 TOUR money list and went back to the Qualifying Tournament to hopefully improve his status. Merrick finished tied for 23rd and in turn gained full exempt status for the year. Through 11 events in 2008, he has four top-15 finishes and is No. 50 on the FedExCup points list

• Geoff Ogilvy (70) was the only player in the field on Thursday to card a bogey-free round.

• Olin Browne, who entered this week ranked No. 1 in Driving Accuracy on the PGA TOUR, lived up to his reputation in round one by hitting 13 of 14 fairways and in turn leading the field in that category. Unfortunately, Browne's accuracy only afforded him a round of 73.