Puerto Rico Open: First-Round Notebook
By Nelson Silverio, PGA TOUR Staff
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico -- Bo Van Pelt grabbed the early clubhouse lead Thursday and set a course record with his 8-under-par 64. Van Pelt was in the second group off the first tee. The former Oklahoma State star shot a 6-under 30 on the back nine with birdies at Nos. 10, 11, 12, 15, 17 and 18. Van Pelt has made four cuts in seven starts this year with his only top-25 finish a tie for 24th at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
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• Bo Van Pelt's 8-under 64 is one stroke off his career-low score, but equals his career-best in terms of par. Van Pelt's best is an 8-under 63 in the fourth round of the 2002 Greater Milwaukee Open. This marks the sixth time in his PGA TOUR career he has carded a 64, with the others coming in the 2007 Travelers Championship (fourth round), the 2006 Frys.com Open (second round), the 2006 Wachovia Championship (second round), 2005 U.S. Bank Championship (third round) and 2002 Greater Milwaukee Open (first round).
• Bo Van Pelt holds the first-round lead for only the second time in his career. The only other time he's been at the top of the leaderboard after the opening-18 was the 2004 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, where he posted a 5-under-par 65 and was part of a PGA TOUR-record (since 1970) eight-way tie for the lead.
• Thursday's 64 also marks the best start of Bo Van Pelt's PGA TOUR career.
• Four players from Puerto Rico received sponsor exemptions this week. Max Alverio posted a 4-under 76 and is tied for 116th place; Wilfredo Morales and amateur Rafael Campos shot 72s and are tied for 56th; and Miguel Suarez is tied for ninth after his opening round of 4-under 68.
• Ted Purdy posted a 6-under-par 66 in the opening round. Purdy has made five starts this year with only two cuts to his credit. Purdy tied for 50th at the FBR Open and finished 77th at the PODS Championship two weeks ago.
• Shigeki Maruyama withdrew after the first round. Maruyama carded a 4-over-par 76.
• Players who were bogey-free in the first round: Ted Purdy (66); Briny Baird (67); Jason Dufner (68); Brian Gay, Jin Park and Joe Durant (69); and Diego Vanegas (70).
• Nicholas Thompson's 5-under-par 67 matches the second-best opening round of his career. Thompson posted an 8-under 64 in the first round of the 2006 84 Lumber Classic, where he owned a two-stroke lead over six players, including Ted Purdy. Thompson also shot a 67 to start the 2006 Buick Invitational. Thompson has made four cuts in nine this year, with a tie for 12th at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and a tie for seventh at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in back-to-back starts.
• Rookie Kyle Thompson posted his career-best round Thursday, a 6-under 66, which leaves him in a tie for second place with Ted Purdy, two shots back of leader Bo Van Pelt. Thompson is making only the 10th start of his career and the seventh in 2008. Thus far in 2008, the rookie from South Carolina has made two cuts in six total starts -- a tie for 69th at the Sony Open in Hawaii and a tie for 50th at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. His previous low round on the PGA TOUR was a 4-under-68 at the 2007 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the 2008 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
• This week's inaugural Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular features a truly international field with a total of 15 different countries (not counting Puerto Rico, which is a commonwealth affiliated with the United States) represented in the field of 132 players. The countries represented this week include: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Columbia, England, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United States
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