Kaye loving the conditions after first round in Reno

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Jonathan Kaye, who was raised in Colorado, has found it very easy to adapt to the weather conditions so far in Reno.

RENO, Nev. -- Jonathan Kaye, who grew up in Colorado, feels right at home in Nevada at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. The altitude, the wind, the cool weather, it's all familiar to Kaye, who was born in Denver and now makes his home in Phoenix.

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"A little high-altitude golf, like being at home in Colorado. It's kind of like Castle Pines, a place I wish we were still playing," said Kaye of the former home of The International, a PGA TOUR event in Castle Rock, Colo.

Instead, Kaye is at Montreux Golf and Country Club at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. With winds whipping to 30 mph at times Thursday and snow -- let's repeat that August forecast one more time: snow -- predicted for the higher elevations Thursday night, Kaye made his way around with six birdies and two bogeys to finish the first round tied for second with seven players, including two-time Legends Reno-Tahoe champion Vaughn Taylor and former University of Nevada golfer Rich Barcelo, who is looking for a PGA TOUR win two weeks after he broke through and won the Nationwide Tour's Cox Classic.

Kaye's success in Reno should come as no surprise. In six previous starts at the tournament, he has two runner-up performances and a tie for ninth. He's a cumulative 46-under par in his 23 Reno rounds. On a windy day such as Thursday, Kaye felt he had an advantage.

"It's just knowing how far the ball's going to travel in this thinner air," he explained. "I just think I got the right formula for clubbing myself up here."

His right formula consisted of 11 of 14 fairways hit. Although he only hit 11 greens in regulation, he had 11 one-putt greens among his 25 total putts.

"[The wind] was blowing from the get-go. I think it picked up as the round went on," said Jeff Quinney, who opened with a 69. "And it was a little chilly."

Although it was considerably warmer in Littleton, Colo., Kaye said the wind was worse at a pro-am he played Monday at Arrowhead Golf Club. "I felt like I was in a blow dryer for six hours," he said. "But I remember some days when it gets windy up here (at Montreux), and you really gotta be aware of which way the wind's blowing because there are a few places out here you can get in a lot of trouble."

Kaye avoided that for the most part Thursday. "I kept it in play. I think I hit one really bad shot, on the sixth hole," he said. "But other than that, I played pretty solid."

Kaye is playing this season with a major medical extension due to a toe injury that has required surgery. Kaye has played a limited 2009 schedule. This is his 16th event, with his top performance coming at the Valero Texas Open, where he tied for 11th. He is 166th in the FedExCup, and strong finishes here and at the Wyndham Championship could vault him into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

A Reno victory might do it, too. He's come close to winning the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, losing in a playoff to Chris Riley in 2002 and falling by three strokes to Taylor during his second Montreux victory.

Seven years ago, Kaye missed an 8-foot putt on the 72nd hole that would have prevented the Riley playoff.

"I remember that putt. It should have gone in," Kaye said. At the time, he told the assembled media that "It was in the heart of the cup with three inches to go. The golf gods weren't with me today." That apparently was true when he lipped out a 5-foot putt on the same hole -- the first playoff hole -- a few minutes later, with Riley birdieing to win.

Three years later, Kaye trailed Taylor by eight strokes entering the final round, shot a final-round 67 but was only able to shave five strokes off his deficit.

If Montreux owes him, Kaye isn't saying. But he's glad to be back at a tournament where he's played well.

"I like it here. I like the course," Kaye said.

Now if he can just get the golf gods to cooperate.