Buick Invitational: First-round notebook
By Doug Milne, PGA TOUR Staff
SAN DIEGO -- Camilo Villegas got off to the hottest, most dramatic start of the day. Following a birdie at the par-5 first hole on the North Course, Villegas holed out his approach shot on the par-4 second to get to 3 under through two holes. Another birdie at the par-3 third moved him to 4 under. Villegas would go on to a 63 and three-shot lead over Davis Love III and Aaron Baddeley.
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• Since 1996, only two players have held the first-round lead while starting on the South Course at Torrey Pines: Troy Matteson (2008) and Davis Love III (2000).
• Villegas is playing in his third event of the 2009 season. At the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship, he tied for 12th place, followed by a missed cut last week at the FBR Open. Prior to last week, his last two missed cuts, the 2008 Masters and 2008 The Barclays, were followed by top-10 finishes in his next event.
• Villegas has twice held at least a share of the first-round lead in the past. At the 2007 Deutsche Bank Championship, his opening-round, 8-under 63 gave him a two-stroke lead, which ended with a tie for ninth place. At last year's BMW Championship, he opened with a 5-under 65, which he carried all the way to the winner's circle for his first PGA TOUR win.
• Villegas is playing in his fourth Buick Invitational this week. He missed the cut in 2006 and 2007, but rallied at Torrey Pines last year with a tie for 13th.
• Villegas' 9-under 63 ties his career low. He fired an 8-under 63 in Round 1 of the 2007 Deutsche Bank Championship and repeated the feat again there in Round 3 in 2008.
• Villegas' 9-under 63 in round one fell just two strokes shy of the North Course record of 11-under 61, set by Mark Brooks in 1990 and Brandt Snedeker in 2007.
• It should come as no surprise that Love is among those near the top of the leaderboard at 6 under after Round 1. With a dozen previous Buick Invitational starts under his belt, he has amassed four top-10s, including a win in 1996 and a tie for second in 2001. He has previously held the first-round lead twice at the Buick Invitational. In 1998, an opening-round 10-under 62 gave him a one shot lead en route to a tie for third. In 2000, his first-round 65 was also good for a single-shot lead, ultimately leading to a fourth-place finish.
• Aaron Baddeley made seven birdies and a lone bogey in round one for a 6-under 66, taking a share of second place with Love. In his first start of the season at last week's FBR Open, he tied for 35th and following Thursday's 66, is nine of 13 for rounds in the 60s at the Buick Invitational.
• Two-time Buick Invitational champion Phil Mickelson fired a 2-under 70 on the South Course, bringing his number of sub-par rounds to 24 (of 37) since 2000 at the Buick Invitational.
• In anticipation of severe weather Friday, PGA TOUR Rules Officials made the decision to have players use the "up" tees on five holes on the South Course. The decision was based on the fact that holes 5, 7, 11, 12 and 13 would play into strong wind and/or contain a forced carry.
• Lift, clean and place was not put into effect on Thursday, thus making Round 3 the earliest the rule could be implemented due to the two-course rotation.
• South Carolina native Lucas Glover posted an opening-round, 3-under 69 Thursday, getting off to a good start to claim his first top-10 finish since a tie for seventh at last year's Buick Open.
• In what speaks well to Torrey Pines, it's interesting to note that each Buick Invitational champion since 1996 is also the owner of at least one major championship title.
• In Round 1, the South Course played more than three strokes tougher than the North Course. The lowest round of the day on the South Course was a 3-under 69, posted by Scott Sterling and Mathew Goggin.
• The scoring average on the North Course Thursday was 71.731, while the scoring average on the South Course was 75.372.
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