HP Byron Nelson Champ.: First-round notebook

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James Nitties birdied his last four holes on Thursday to tie for the lead with a 5-under 65.

IRVING, Texas -- James Nitties, who birdied the final four holes on Thursday at the TPC Four Seasons Resort, and Ken Duke posted matching 5-under 65s to take the first-round lead at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, one stroke clear of Brad Adamonis, Scott McCarron, Charles Howell III and Mike Weir.

• The sub-70 score snaps a string of 11 straight rounds in the 70s for Duke. The 40-year-old native of Hope, Arkansas is making his 14th start of the season, with six made cuts and a season-best tie for 26th at the Verizon Heritage. He is currently 122nd on the FedExCup points list.

• Nitties is making his 15th start of the season, with seven made cuts and five top-25 finishes. He has top-10 finishes at the FBR Open (tied for fourth) and the Mayakoba Golf Classic (tied for sixth), and is most recently coming off of four consecutive rounds in the 60s and a tie for 17th at last week's Valero Texas Open.

• This marks the second time that Duke and Nitties have held at least a share of the first-round lead. Duke was tied for the lead after the first day of the 2008 John Deere Classic before tying for 18th. Nitties was tied for the lead earlier this year at the FBR Open before tying for fourth.

• Duke is making his fourth start at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, with a tie for 35th finish in 2008, tie for seventh in 2007 and 77th-place effort in 2004. Thursday's round was just one shy of his best score at the TPC Four Seasons Resort, a 6-under 64 during the third round in 2007.

• The first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win just five of 20 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR this season, most recently Phil Mickelson at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. Last year, just nine of 46 first-round leaders/co-leaders went on to win.

• First-round leaders have not fared well at the HP Byron Nelson Championship over the previous 55 playings of the tournament. Only seven players have carried the opening-day lead on to victory, including Scott Simpson (1993), Tom Watson (1979-80), Mark Hayes (1976), Chi Chi Rodriguez (1972), Earl Stewart (1961) and Don January (1956). Only two have won the tournament in wire-to-wire fashion -- Hayes in 1976 and Watson in 1980. (Note: Complete first-round scores are not available for the inaugural event in 1944, which was won by Byron Nelson).

• All four players at 4-under 66 played in the morning wave, including Weir, McCarron, Howell III and Adamonis.

• Defending champion Adam Scott opened with a 1-over 71 in his attempt to become the first repeat winner of the HP Byron Nelson Championship since Tom Watson won three in a row from 1978-80. Scott is making his third start at the HP Byron Nelson Championship (tied for third in 2006, won in 2008).

• Seven past champions of the HP Byron Nelson Championship are competing this week, including 2008 winner Adam Scott (71), 2007 champion Scott Verplank (69), 2005 champion Ted Purdy (74), 2003 winner Vijay Singh (70), 2002 champion Shigeki Maruyama (72), 2000 victor Jesper Parnevik (67) and 1987 champion Fred Couples (69).

• 1987 HP Byron Nelson Championship winner and 2009 President's Cup U.S. team captain Fred Couples opened with a 1-under 69. Couples will turn 50 and become eligible for the Champions Tour in early October, but continues to show he still belongs on the PGA TOUR. Currently No. 76 on the FedExCup points list, Couples posted season-best tie for third efforts at the Northern Trust Open and the Shell Houston Open.

• 2007 HP Byron Nelson Championship winner Scott Verplank (69) is making his 23rd start at the tournament. Just five players have made more starts (28 - Lanny Wadkins, Tom Watson; 27 -- Ben Crenshaw; 24- Bruce Lietzke, Raymond Floyd).

• Corey Pavin, who is attempting to become the first player to win all four Texas Swing tournaments during his career on the PGA TOUR, struggled to a 7-over 77. Pavin's victories in the Lone Star State include the 1984 Shell Houston Open, 1985 and 1996 Colonial National Invitation and the 1988 Valero Texas Open.

• Dallas native and resident Matt Weibring opened with a 3-under 67. His only previous start at the tournament was a missed cut in 2005 (73-71). Weibring's Dad, D.A., spearheaded the $10 million redesign of the TPC Four Seasons prior to the 2008 tournament. The elder Weibring played in the tournament 22 times, with runner-up finishes in 1993 and 1995.

• Bogey-free rounds were posted by Chris DiMarco (67), Robert Allenby (67) and Scott Gutschewski (68).

• The par-4 15th hole played the toughest on Thursday, yielding a 4.310 average and just 11 birdies. The par-5 seventh hole was the easiest with a 4.484 average, giving up five eagles.

• Seventy-three players out of the 155-player field posted par-or-better scores during the first round, with 53 of those posting sub-70 scores.

• John Huston withdrew during the first round with a back injury.