Three share first-round lead at WNB Golf Classic
By Joe Chemycz, PGA TOUR Staff
MIDLAND, Texas -- Golf isn't an easy game, but it's suddenly become a lot more enjoyable for 44-year old Fran Quinn, who shot an 8-under 64 in the opening round of the WNB Golf Classic and grabbed a share of the 18-hole lead. Quinn, Garrett Willis and Monday qualifier Rhein Gibson all torched the Midland Country Club course during a nearly perfect scoring afternoon to wind up co-leaders in the Nationwide Tour event.
Brendan Steele, Bob May, Marco Dawson, Paul Stankowski, David Hearn and Fabian Gomez share fourth place at 6-under 66. Another half-dozen are in at 67, including 2005 tournament champion Kris Cox, who opened his day with four consecutive birdies.
Quinn, 44, is fresh off a win at last week's Albertsons Boise Open, his first in more than nine years.
"Confidence is huge," he said after six birdies and an eagle. "With grinding and trying to win so bad, and then each time I failed it took a lot out of me. Being able to convert it and get it done Sunday, now I feel like, 'Let's play and let's enjoy it,' and I'm just trying to keep that same attitude. It was fun."
Quinn's fun came largely from having so many opportunities to make birdies. The Holden, Mass., resident hit 17 greens in regulation.
"I putted awfully well," he added. "I just made all the ones you think you should make, those eight and 10-footers. It was nice not to put all that pressure on yourself to make them all."
One he didn't have to make came at the 552-yard, 12th hole, where his tee shot caught a tree at the dogleg and forced Quinn to lay up short of the green by about 70 yards. With the Midland CC course playing softer due to overnight rains Tuesday and Wednesday night, Quinn took dead aim and holed his pitch for eagle.
"That's stealing one there," he said with a chuckle. "From winning last week, you just have an ease about you."
Willis started slowly, making the turn at 2 under and then "just started hitting it closer on the back" to finish with a share of the lead.
"If you can keep it in the fairway here you're going to give yourself a lot of chances," he said after hitting 9 of 14 on the day. "You might not make all the putts I made today, but at least you give yourself chances to make birdies."
Gibson has been making birdies in bunches the past week. The 23-year old Australian tied for second in Lincoln, Neb., on Saturday at a pre-qualifying tournament for q-school. He then flew to Texas on Sunday and posted an 8-under 62 in the open qualifier for this event on Monday.
"It's tough to follow up one good round with another, and obviously this is a much tougher course," said Gibson, a 2008 graduate of Oklahoma Christian University. "I just hit the ball solid. Pretty much wherever I tried to hit it, I hit it. To be honest, I would have taken anything under par today."
Steele posted the best round of the morning session, which began amid light rain showers and temperatures in the low 50s. The second-year pro carded a 6-under 66 that started with a chip-in birdie at No. 1.
"I probably haven't chipped in all year," he said. "The front nine was a little frustrating. I hit some good shots but didn't really make anything. I made a good birdie at No. 8 and the floodgates kind of opened with the putter, which hasn't been happening this year."
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First-Round Notes:
• The temperature when play began was 53 degrees. Skies were cloudy with light rain falling. The weather was mostly sunny in the afternoon and reached a high temperature of 72 degrees.
• Co-leader Rhein (Ree-in) Gibson finished up his college career at Oklahoma Christian University, an NAIA school in Oklahoma City, last year. Gibson's Eagle team is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in NAIA. Gibson earned a spot at the 2008 Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open through open qualifying, but missed the cut when playing as an amateur. This is his second career start on the Nationwide Tour.
• Longtime PGA TOUR veteran Billy Mayfair is making the first Nationwide Tour start of his career this week. Mayfair has made 643 career starts on the PGA TOUR but hasn't played since the Wyndham Championship five weeks ago and is preparing for next week's Turning Stone Resort Championship. The 43-year old carded a 4-under 68 and tied for 16th.
• Joe Durant is also gearing up for next week's PGA TOUR stop. Durant was a member of the Nationwide Tour in 1991 and 1993-96. He won the 1996 Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic and finished third on the money list and graduated to the PGA TOUR, where he has played ever since. Durant shot a 1-under 71 and is tied for 84th.
• Adam Bland's front nine 6-under 30 tied the tournament record for the lowest front nine score. Bland is the 13th player to post a 30 on the front but only the sixth to do it at Midland CC. The last to do it was Garth Mulroy in the first round two years ago.
• Garrett Willis tied the lowest back nine hole at Midland CC with a 6-under 30 Thursday afternoon.
• Jerod Turner, who was an alternate and didn't make it into the field until Tuesday afternoon, birdied all four par-3s Thursday en route to his 5-under 67.
• Andrew Magee (76) and Bob Burns (81) withdrew after the first round.
• Matthew Richardson did not show up for his tee time this afternoon and was replaced in the field by Ryan Cobb, who was actually the eighth alternate at the time but the only alternate on site.
• Scott Gardiner had two eagles on par-5s today (Nos. 4 and 12). This is the third time this year that Gardiner has had two eagles in a single round -- the others came at the BMW Charity Pro-Am and the Price Cutter Charity Championship.
• A total of 14 players were bogey-free in the opening round, including all three co-leaders.
• A total of 57 players in the field of 156 posted sub-70 scores and 120 were at par-or-better.
• Today's scoring average of 70.615 was the lowest opening-round average since the tournament moved to Midland Country Club in 2002. The previous low was 71.125 in 2007. The lowest single round at Midland CC is 69.870 in the third round in 2005.
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