Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Round 1

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Metroplex resident Justin Leonard is looking for a hometown win at this week's Crowne Plaza Invitational in Fort Worth.

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Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial

PGATOUR.COM's The Live Report is on the scene at Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, and we'll be providing updates all day long for each round, so check back often. (All timestamps are Eastern Time.) PGA TOUR Shot Tracker | Live Scoring | PGA TOUR Network | Facebook | Twitter | FanZone

STREAK LIVES (6:44 p.m.): Brian Davis' streak of consecutive sub-70 rounds, rounds under par and rounds at par lives on after he shot a 1-under 69 today.

The last time that Davis shot 70 or higher was in the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship, where he recorded three rounds of 71 to go with a second-round 69. Still, that was good enough for a tie for fifth and since then his highest score has been a 69 (twice, including today).

Davis, who had a fairly uneventful round today with two birdies and one bogey, is a combined 46 under in his last five-plus tournaments. -- Brian Wacker

LATE-DAY MOVE (6:15 p.m.): The first round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational is winding down and one player trying to make a late push toward the lead is Jason Day, who is 5 under through 14 holes.

Day, the 21-year-old Aussie phenom, began his day with three straight birdies and has since added two more -- despite hitting just 4 of 11 fairways. That hasn't slowed him, obviously, with Day hitting 11 of 14 greens in regulation.

It's been an up-and-down year for Day -- he tied for second in Puerto Rico and tied for 14th at Pebble Beach, but he's also missed two cuts and withdrew from another event. If Day can keep it up, however, he'll match his season-best score of 66 (or better it). -- Brian Wacker

STRICKER'S STRONG PERFORMANCE (5:55 p.m.): Steve Stricker hasn't won since 2007, but he's certainly put himself into position to on more than once occasion since then and this week is shaping up to be another example of that.

Stricker missed just two fairways all day and needed only 25 putts to complete a round of 63 -- his third-lowest score of the year, surpassed only by a 61 and a 62 in the third and fourth rounds of the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer.

That leaves Stricker in a tie for the lead going into Round 2. On the year, he has five top-10s that include a runner-up at the Northern Trust Open and of course the dubious tie for third in Palm Springs, where he stumbled home with a 77, eventually finishing behind winner Pat Perez. All the close calls haven't deterred Stricker, however, as the guy just keeps picking himself up time and time again.

Of course, if he continues playing like he did Thursday, he won't have to worry about picking anything up, except the trophy. -- Brian Wacker

Below is a look at Stricker's scorecard from today:

STREAKS ON THE LINE (5:20 p.m.): Brian Davis, who has finished in the top 5 each of the past three weeks, has a few different streaks at stake this week at Colonial and one of those could be in danger of coming to an end.

The Englishman has shot eight consecutive rounds in the 60s, 13 straight sub-par rounds and 20 in a row of par or better. Right now, Davis is just 1 under through his first 12 holes today.

Davis just hasn't been able to get anything going with two birdies and one bogey. Most disconcerting for Davis is that he hasn't been able to take advantage of Colonial's par 5s, both of which he parred, and one of which -- the 559-yard first hole -- ranks as the easiest hole on the course right now. -- Brian Wacker

A sip of Maginnes

FLYING LOW (5:10 p.m.): There are certain guys that just seem to fly under the radar, making millions of dollars without ever getting recognized in the airport. That is certainly the way that the last three years have gone on the PGA TOUR for Charlie Wi. I bet you didn't realize that he is in the top 40 on the money list with another runner-up finish this year. His second-place finish at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans was the third of his career. Charlie has two other top-10 finishes this and has made 10 of 13 cuts. But the 37-year-old isn't resting on his laurels or his bank account and has played himself into contention so far here in Round 1 -- through 16 holes she has four birdies and no bogeys. Charlie may not be a household name, but his consistent play has earned him the respect of his peers. If he keeps it up, it just may win him a plaid jacket at the end of the week. -- John Maginnes

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TROUBLE FOR TROY (5 p.m.): Troy Matteson was near the top of the leaderboard a couple of hours ago after making three straight birdies in the early stages of his round, but has since fallen well back after two bogeys and two triple bogeys over his last six holes.

Matteson's troubles began when he three-putted from 51 feet for bogey on the par-4 15th. On the par-3 16th, things got worse when Matteson's tee shot found the water and his next ball sailed into a greenside bogey on his way to making triple bogey. On the 18th, Matteson had the military golf swing working, going right, then left, taking two drops along the way before making his second triple bogey.

Matteson's last bogey came on the second hole, where he was unable to save par from just off the green some 65 feet away. With seven holes to play, Matteson is now 5 over on the day. -- Brian Wacker

AUSTIN, SINGH SPEAK (4:30 p.m.): If there was a key to Woody Austin's 7-under 63 today, it was how he played the fifth, sixth and seventh holes. "Three in a row," Austin said of his birdie run over that stretch. "None of them were stiff, so that was huge."

Indeed. Austin rolled in a 46-footer for birdie on No. 5, a 37-footer on No. 6 and a 22-footer on No. 7. To see the rest of Austin's interview, click here .

Vijay Singh, meanwhile, has been working on weakening his right hand and swung well enough to shoot his lowest score of the year, a 64. "I didn't drive it as well as I would have liked, but hit a lot of good iron shots," said Singh, who hit just 7 of 14 fairways. "Every week it's been a struggle to get off to a good start."

Not to mention Singh may have left his Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., home just in time. The area's been hit with a lot of heavy rain of late, especially in the past week or so. Normall, that would put a damper on Singh's legendary practice sessions. However, since he's been in Texas the last couple of weeks, he's been able to continue his comeback. For more from Singh, click here . -- Brian Wacker

NO SURPRISE TO SEE CLARK IN CONTENTION (4:15 p.m.): Seeing Tim Clark's name at the top of the leaderboard at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial on Thursday should really come as no surprise.

Clark

Not only does he have three top-10s already this year, the young South African also tied for second at Colonial in 2008. In fact, after missing the cut in his 2003 debut, Clark hasn't finished lower than 21st since.

"This is a course I've really enjoyed," Clark said. "I've had good results here. I always hook forward to coming back. I think that helps me when I get out there have a good frame of mind and I continue to play this course well.

Last year's tie for second was the sixth runner-up finish of Clark's career as he inches closer and closer to what would be his first TOUR win.

He hit all but two greens and 12 of 14 fairways on Thursday while making seven bogeys to post his low round of the season. Clark ranks fifth in the TOUR's all-around category, seventh in driving accuracy, 10th in par breakers and 11thin scoring.

"I think the last few years, I putted great and just wasn't hitting the ball that great," Clark said. "This is probably the first year in quite a while where I feel I'm starting to hit the ball better. If I can keep that going, and continue to putt like I have, I think it's going to be a good year. I have been happy so far." -- Helen Ross

CHOPRA WITHDRAWS (4:05 p.m.): Daniel Chopra withdrew today after his opening round. On the day, he hit 7 of 14 fairways and just 7 of 18 greens in regulation on his way to a 4-over 74. The last few weeks have beendifficult for the two-time TOUR winner. Prior to pulling out here, he missed the cut in each of his last two starts at the HP Byron Nelson Championship and the Valero Texas Open. -- Brian Wacker

GOING LOW AT COLONIAL (3:55 p.m.): Holding or sharing the first-round lead at Colonial doesn't necessarily equal success here -- only 14 times in the previous 61 playings of this event has the first-round leader gone on to win. The last to do so? Ian Baker-Finch, who is playing here and on the PGA TOUR for the first time since his 2001 Colonial appearance. Baker-Finch, by the way, shot a 2-under 68 today.

Should the 63 shot by Woody Austin and Tim Clark hold up, it would mark the third straight year that 63 has led after the first round (2007 -- Anthony Kim, Kevin Na; 2008 -- Johnson Wagner). The lowest first-round score ever shot here was a 62 by Patrick Sheehan in 2005.

As for our co-leaders, Austin is making his ninth start at Colonial, with his career-best finish (4th) coming in his inaugural appearance in 1995. He also has top-20 finishes here in 1996 (T16) and 2006 (T17).

Clark is teeing it up for the sixth time at Colonial. After missing the cut in his first start in 2003, he has accumulated four straight top-25 finishes (T14-2004, T21-2005, T12-2007, T2-2008). He also recorded a 63 earlier this year during the third round of the 50th Bob Hope Classic en route to a season-best T5 finish. -- John Bush

TOMS CLIMBING (3:35 p.m.): David Toms is one of the few players in the afternoon wave making a move up the leaderboard with four birdies and no bogeys through his first eight holes. That has Toms, who has hit 5 of 6 fairways and 7 of 8 greens in regulation, just three off the lead at the moment.

Toms is still looking for that first elusive win since the 2006 Sony Open in Hawaii -- and he almost got it at this year's Sony Open in Hawaii, where he finished in a tie for second. The last couple of years, however, have been an uphill climb for the 12-time PGA TOUR winner. Even though he's had six top-25s in 2008, a bevy of back injuries have bothered him the last couple of seasons.

There are signs, though, aside from his round today, that Toms' game is on the upswing, so to speak. In two of his last four events, Toms has finished in the top 10 with another finish in the top 20. He's also been able to string together some good rounds, specifically in New Orleans, where he shot three rounds of 68 on his way to a tie for fifth.

What will this week hold for Toms? Follow the rest of round live with Shot Tracker by clicking here. -- Brian Wacker

METEORIC RISE (3:15 p.m.): With one more win on the Nationwide Tour this season, Michael Sim will earn a battlefield promotion to the PGA TOUR. That promotion could come as soon as this week with Sim just two strokes off the lead at The Rex Hospital Open.

A lot of Sim's success, as you can read about in this piece by our Stan Awtrey, is due to a new focus on the mental side of his game along with a focus on a short game. With the way Sim is playing right now, Awtrey might be right in saying he may be the hottest player on the planet right now. -- Brian Wacker

MORNING MOVES (2:55 p.m.): For a third straight week, pretty much every low number on the leaderboard, at least in the opening round, came from the morning wave. The lowest number on the board right now of the players who teed off later? A whopping 1 under.

Some players, like Jim Furyk, who is through just five holes, have a lot of golf in front of them and therefore a lot of opportunity to shoot low. But very few probably will be able to. That's because of the weather in Texas, which often starts out humid, therefore keeping the greens soft and receptive -- definitely a big factor given the small greens at Colonial. As the day goes on, however, the Texas sun tends to bake the greens out, making it much harder to score late in the day.

Sometimes, it's the wind that plays a role -- we saw that at the Shell Houston Open and last week's HP Byron Nelson. Colonial, however, isn't nearly as exposed and is nestled into a tree-lined neighborhood so wind isn't nearly as much a factor. -- Brian Wacker

ACES UP (2:35 p.m.): Dean Wilson's hole-in-one at the 166-yard 13th is the 24th ace recorded in the 63 years since Colonial has hosted a PGA TOUR event. It's also the eighth ace at the 13th hole, which is the Kodak Challenge hole this week. -- Mike McAllister

AUSTIN POWER (2:25 p.m.): Woody Austin's 7-under 63 today at Colonial isn't the lowest score of his career, but it isn't far off it and it's certainly the best round he's had all season.

With 15 of 18 greens in regulation today, it's easy to see how Austin could make seven birdies, but he also put himself in good position on Colonial's small, tricky greens with a lot of accuracy -- his average distance to the pin was 23 feet, 10 inches. That led to just 26 putts and, at least for now, a one-shot lead with Tim Clark.

The last time Austin won on the PGA TOUR, in case you were wondering, was in 2007, when he shot a final-round 62 (also a career-low) to capture the St. Jude Championship. -- Brian Wacker

Below is a look at Austin's scorecard from today and a chart on his lowest career rounds:

Woody Austin's lowest career rounds

Score Tournament Year Round Eventual finish 62 (8 under) St. Jude Championship 2007 4 Won 63 (9 under) Buick Open 1995 1 Won 63 (9 under) Buick Open 2000 1 T4 63 (9 under) FUNAI Classic - Disney 2003 2 T24 63 (9 under) Honda Classic 2003 3 T8 63 (7 under) Valero Texas Open 2005 1 T3 63 (7 under) U.S. Bank in Milwaukee 2006 3 T6 63 (7 under) Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial 2009 ? ?

MORE ON SINGH'S ROUND (2 p.m.): Vijay Singh's 6-under 64 on Thursday is his lowest score on the PGA TOUR since shooting an 8-under 63 in the final round of last year's Deutsche Bank Championship on Sept. 1, a tournament that he won on his way to the FedExCup championship.

The 64 is also his lowest first-round score since the Deutsche Bank, and ranks among the 10 lowest first-round scores in Singh's Hall-of-Fame career.

Of those top 10 low rounds (three 63s, seven 64s), this is just the second one on a par-70 course. The other occasion came in 1998 at THE TOUR Championship at the par-70 East Lake Golf Club when Singh shot a 7-under 63.

Of the nine previous low rounds, Singh went on to win the event five times. -- Mike McAllister

TWEET OF THE DAY (1:48 p.m.): From PGA TOUR resident Twitter-master Stewart Cink (@stewartcink): This is a Tour of intellectuals these days. Spelling Bee on in workout trailer and Jeopardy in dining room. Can't wait to see locker room...

THE SCORE TO BEAT (1:37 p.m.): The early score to beat today is a 6-under 64, shot by Vijay Singh and Kenny Perry. Though, Singh's score could have been lower had he not hit his approach shot on the -par-4 ninth (his last hole of the day) into the water short of the green.

Singh's tee shot on the 386-yard hole found a fairway bunker on the right. When he tried to reach the green from 103 yards, his shot came up just short and went in the water. Singh took a drop, hit on and saved bogey from just over 25 feet.

It was the only bogey of the day for Singh, who, at one point, made five straight birdies in the middle of his round.

Perry, meanwhile, was bogey-free with three birdies a side. It's no surprise to see Perry play well here. He's won this tournament twice and has finished in the top 10 in half of his events this season. -- Brian Wacker

WILSON MAKES AN ACE (1:25 p.m.): We've got out first hole-in-one of the day courtesy of Dean Wilson, who just aced the 166-yard, par-3 13th hole about 20 minutes ago. Wilson, who was coming off a bogey just two holes earlier, is now 3 under on the day and hanging onto a spot in the top 10. -- Brian Wacker

FINCHY FEELING IT (1:15 p.m.): Want a feel-good story? Well, don't look now but Ian Baker-Finch is on the leaderboard at 3 under for his first 11 holes.

For the last decade or so, the 48-year-old Aussie has been making his living as a broadcaster -- and had the 1989 Colonial champ not opted to play this week he would have been working the tournament for CBS. He said on Tuesday that he expects to get his share of kidding on-air.

"They will probably show a slim 28-year-old on one side and a fat 48-year-old on the other, and have fun with it," Baker-Finch admitted. "I'm totally happy with all of that. I'm really, really looking forward to it."

Those three straight birdies the 1991 British Open champ just reeled off as he made the turn should shift the focus from his physique -- which, by the way, is still trim -- to his game pretty quickly, though.

One of the game's truly nice people, the Aussie has only played once since shooting a disastrous 92 at the 1997 British Open. That appearance came at the 2001 MasterCard Colonial where Baker-Finch shot 74-77. -- Helen Ross

LEE SETTLING INTO LIFE ON TOUR (1 p.m.): Danny Lee, the 18-year-old sensation who turned pro a little more than a month ago, is hoping to build on the momentum of his best-ever finish as a professional, a tie for 13th last week in Dallas. One way way to do that is to do what a lot of PGA TOUR pros have done -- settle in Texas.

"Pretty ladies," joked Lee about his decision to buy a house in Dallas. "My parents really like it here, and I'm only 18 so I have to live with my parents. It's kind of my parents' decision and I really like it over here. I like the weather. It's a bit hot, but I still like it and it's a great place. I really like the TPC, too. So I think that's why we moved over here."

In addition to finally settling on a home base, Lee is learning to adjust to life on TOUR, even if he's technically not a member just yet -- Lee is in this week's field via invitation and has five more sponsor's exemptions for this year as he tries to go the Tiger Woods route and play his way onto the TOUR.

"I think professional golf, you have to take it more seriously. Amateur, everything is fun out there and you just enjoy the tournaments," said Lee, who will tee off at 2:55 p.m. ET today. "It's always good that people think I'm the next Tiger Woods. It's really a special thing. I'm just too busy living my life."

As for where his game is at right now, Lee's biggest concern seems to be more on the 5-inch space between his ears more than whether he misses 5-foot putts, the way he did last week, which cost him a top-10.

"I get really depressed if I make bogeys, or doubles," said Lee. "I think I got to control how to control the anger." -- Brian Wacker

A sip of Maginnes

RIDING THE WAVE (12:40 p.m.): Often you will see a player come seemingly out of nowhere to find his game. For current leader Vijay Singh, the climb back to the top of the leaderboard has been a gradual swell. Vijay's first top-10 of the year came two starts ago at THE PLAYERS. Add the 66 that he shot last Sunday, and his performance here in the first round is not at all surprising. Players try to develop momentum in ways that rarely get noticed. When a guy makes the cut, but is never in contention, he may try a few things on the weekend that he wouldn't otherwise try. Sometimes that search is fruitless, but sometimes a hot Sunday can carry over to the next week. It certainly is for Singh. Mark Calcavecchia is riding the wave of momentum that surfaced last Sunday as well. Calc is coming off a 64 last week and is 3 under through 13 holes today. When veterans like Singh and Calcavecchia find something, they tend to hold onto it for a while. These two could certainly be a factor all week. -- John Maginnes

LEADERBOARD CHECK (12:30 p.m.): We're in our third straight week in Texas and, not surprisingly, the conditions continue to be good for scoring, at least that seems to be the case early on.

Seeing Vijay Singh's name atop the leaderboard may be a bit of a surprise, but he's been making progress the last couple of weeks (see below for more). The players right behind him, however, shouldn't come as any surprise.

Woody Austin, Ian Poulter, Kevin Na, Chad Campbell, Kenny Perry and Justin Leonard all have games that translate well to Colonial and most among this group have had success at this event and others in Texas. You hear the term horses for courses all the time and this is a classic case of that. -- Brian Wacker

SINGH SIGHTING (12 p.m.): It's been less than a stellar year for Vijay Singh, at least by his standards. He hasn't come close to contending, much less winning. That may be about to change, however.

Singh

Singh is off to strong start this week at Colonial, where he has six birdies, including five in a row, through his first 11 holes. (Click here to follow his round live with Shot Tracker).

After knee surgery in January forced Singh to miss a month of action, the 46-year-old's comeback was plagued by a slow recovery and some back problems. He missed four of eight cuts and didn't have a finish better than 30th in any of the stroke-play events.

In earnest, though, things started to turn at THE PLAYERS Championship, where a final-round 67 resulted in a tie for ninth. Last week, the positive momentum continued with a tie for 16th at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, where he closed with rounds of 67-69-66.

Playing well in Texas is also nothing new to Singh. Though he's never won at Colonial, he does have four career victories in the Lone Star State. Though it's still far too early to tell whether he'll add to that total, his 6-under round certainly has him in good position because when Singh makes birdies the way he has so far, he tends to make them in bunches. -- Brian Wacker

CASEY COMES IN HOT (11:45 a.m.): After recording his third worldwide win of the year last Sunday at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, Paul Casey's chances this week might not be quite as good -- but it has nothing to do with the type of golf he's playing.

Casey

"I feel slightly confused as to what time it is," Casey said Tuesday. "I got some good sleep last night. Admittedly we had a drink or two on Sunday night."

Casey had plenty of reason to celebrate. It was his second win on the European Tour this season and first since he getting his inaugural PGA TOUR victory earlier this month at the Shell Houston Open. The victory also moved him to No. 3 in the world, his highest ever ranking.

But if there's anybody who can handle the jet lag and bounce back strong it might be Casey. A big part of his success has been his commitment to fitness and the work he's put in with Damon Shelton in Arizona.

"I think the way my career has sort of gone, sort of played very, very well, and then sort of dipped down and gone sort of up and down," Casey said. "I reviewed it pretty hard and was hard on myself.

"I think probably the final thing would be the attitude, sort of a little bit of belief in my own game that I could win more frequently."

We'll find out in about an hour when Casey tees off if he's ready to win again. -- Brian Wacker

TEXAN GETS TO WORK (11:30 a.m.): If Dallas resident Justin Leonard wants to win a tournament in his home state this season, then this week is his last chance. It looks like Leonard began his first round in Fort Worth with that in mind.

He got off to a sizzling start Thursday, posing five birdies on the front nine to take the early lead ahead of a star-studded leaderboard. If the morning scores are any indication, scoring will be low in Round 1 at Colonial Country Club, so Leonard cannot afford any mistakes if he wants to be in this position at the end of the day.

The last time Leonard hoisted a trophy was at the 2008 St. Jude Classic, where he defeated Trevor Immelman and Robert Allenby in a playoff. The 12-time TOUR winner has had three top-five finishes and a tie for ninth to go with two top-25s this season; could one more week in Texas be just what he needs to get the job done? -- Ceri Mobley

Groups We're Watching

Tee time Players   9:04 am ET No. 1 Rory Sabbatini, Mike Weir, Chad Campbell Sabbatini lives in Fort Worth, won this event in 2007 and is coming off a victory at the HP Byron Nelson last week. 9:16 am ET No. 1 Zach Johnson, Sean O'Hair, Justin Leonard Johnson won the second leg of the Texas Swing; O'Hair earned a title a month ago; Texans will be pulling for Leonard. 1:34 pm ET No. 1 Geoff Ogilvy, J.B. Holmes, David Toms Ogilvy, a two-time winner this season, tied for seventh at Colonial last year. Toms was runner-up at this event in 2002.

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