Northern Trust Open, Round 1
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
WRAPPING UP ROUND 1 (8:30 p.m.): There are still a few groups on the golf course, but the round is about over and no one can catch Dustin Johnson, whose 7-under 64 in the morning wave will hold up. A few players in the afternoon -- most notably Kevin Stadler, Ricky Barnes and David Duval -- made a run at Johnson, but none put up the type of round he did.
Johnson has a long way to go, obviously, and some bad weather is on the way Friday and Saturday, so it will be interesting to see how he handles it. Remember, Johnson won at Pebble Beach last year when the final round of that tournament was ultimately called due to bad weather. -- Brian Wacker
MICKELSON FALTERS (7:45 p.m.): Talk about a rough finish. At one point, a little more than midway through his round, Phil Mickelson was 3 under. By the time he was done, however, he was 1 over.
Mickelson closed with four bogeys over his final seven holes to shoot 72. He struggled with his driving and at times his ball-striking, but his putting was the big story today. Mickelson took 32 putts total -- 15 of them coming over those final seven holes. Among those misses was a 6 1/2-footer on No. 18, a 7-footer on No. 16 and an 11 1/2-footer on No. 12. Overall, Mickelson missed four putts from inside 10 feet and was 0-for-6 in the 15-20 foot range. -- Brian Wacker
Below is a look at Mickelson's scorecard from today. Click here to replay his round with Shot Tracker.
STADLER SLOWING DOWN (7:35 p.m.): The opening round is winding down at Riviera, where Kevin Stadler's birdie barrage has slowed. Since turning 30 on the back nine, he's made just one birdie, one bogey and four pars. Still Stadler is 6 under and just one off the current lead. Baby Walrus missed the cut at last week's Farmers Insurance Open down the coast in San Diego, but he did shoot a second-round 66. -- Brian Wacker
MICKELSON UPDATE (7:04 p.m.): If Phil Mickelson is going to three-peat here, he's going to have to make up some ground over the next few days. After a second-straight bogey, Mickelson is back to even par on the day with two holes left in his round.
It's been a wild round for Mickelson, who opened with a birdie on the par-5 first hole, only to make two birdies and two bogeys over his next 11 holes. Back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 15 and 16 have dropped him to the middle of the pack. Mickelson has also hit just half his fairways and 10 of 16 greens in regulation while taking a less-than-stellar 28 putts so far (or two per green in regulation). -- Brian Wacker
YOU TWEET, WE ANSWER (6:40 p.m.): "Did Padraig decide to use the Ping eye 2 wedge this week?" -- @seanmolyneux
Quick story: When Padraig Harrington found out last year about the upcoming grooves rule change, he sold a bunch of his clubs to charity. Among them were seven of the Ping Eye 2 wedges. Four weeks later, he found out he could indeed use the club. To answer your question, however, Harrington had been waffling about whether or not to put it in play this week (he'd gotten one from a friend). Ultimately, he decided not to play with it.
Fred Couples and Hunter Mahan, however, are playing the wedge this week. Couples is 3 under through 12 holes today and Mahan even par after a round of 71. -- Brian Wacker
STADLER SHARES LEAD (6:26 p.m.): Kevin Stadler is now tied for the lead after making the turn in 30 and adding another birdie on the par-5 first hole. That gives Stadler seven birdies for the day as he moves to 7 under. In case you're wondering, he has a long way to go to match the course record, a 61 shot by Ted Tryba in 1999. A 61 also happens to be the career-best score for Stadler, who shot that in the second round of the 2008 Frys.com Open. -- Brian Wacker
GOING FOR THE GREEN (6 p.m.): We're deep into the opening round here at Riviera and so far, just one player out of 39 has been able to drive the green on the 315-yard par-4 10th hole.
That one player? Matt Kuchar, who barely made the front of the green and was 67 feet, 9 inches from the hole. He three-putted from there to make par. Overall, the 10th is playing to a stroke average of 3.966 and is the 12th most-difficult on the golf course. -- Brian Wacker
DUVAL STARTS STRONG (5:45 p.m.): One way to get into contention: Take nine putts through seven holes. That's what David Duval has done on his way to make four birdies on the back nine at Riviera. He's also hit all but one green in regulation and is in a tie for fourth at the moment.
Duval obviously has a long way to go, but he certainly has things headed the right direction after missing eight of nine cuts dating back to last year's runner-up finish at the U.S. Open. -- Brian Wacker
MICKELSON UPDATE (5:25 p.m.): Phil Mickelson just made the turn here at Riviera, where it's been another up-and-down round for him. He is 1 under with two birdies and a bogey, but he's also hit just four of seven fairways and five of nine greens in regulation with 14 putts (including one three-putt on No. 5).
Last year, he got off to a much better start, shooting a 63 on his way to the win. -- Brian Wacker
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON? (5:05 p.m.): Two weeks ago, Bill Haas got his breakthrough PGA TOUR victory at the Bob Hope Classic. The win was particularly touching since his father, Jay, had won the tournament 22 years earlier -- and he was on hand for the final round.
There have been no Walrus sightings at Riviera just yet, but Craig Stadler won what is now known as the Northern Trust Open in 1996 and finished second in his title defense a year later. And his son, Kevin, who is also looking for his first PGA TOUR win, is playing early in the first round of this year's renewal -- standing 3 under through his first four holes. -- Helen Ross
PARNEVIK'S PAINFUL 68 (4:55 p.m.): Jesper Parnevik is one of 10 players in the clubhouse at 3 under and currently tied for fifth. How long he stays there, however, is another question.
Parnevik had hip surgery last August, but says he hasn't been right since.
"Hopefully I can play tomorrow," said Parnevik, who is suffering from a bad case of sciatica. "My back is very bad. I don't know how to get rid of it yet. I've tried everything so far. I'm going to see the physios this afternoon." -- Brian Wacker
STRICKER'S STRONG START (4:30 p.m.): Last year's runner-up, Steve Stricker, is off to another good start at Riviera. The third-ranked player in the world eagled the par-5 first hole, where he pitched in from 73 feet, and has since added birdies on Nos. 2, 5 and 6. A bogey on the par-4 third is his only blemish so far.
Stricker is coming off a third-place finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii, where he closed with a final-round 65. The week before that, he tied for 10th at Kapalua. Follow Stricker live with Shot Tracker by clicking here. -- Brian Wacker
HARRINGTON STRUGGLES (4:14 p.m.): It's only one round, but the beginning of this season isn't all that different from the beginning of last for Padraig Harrington. He just turned in a round of 1-over 72 with three bogeys and two birdies.
The biggest problem for Harrington today? He hit just six greens in regulation.
Last season, Harrington opened with three-straight rounds in the 70s before finishing in a tie for 24th at Torrey Pines. This year, he skipped the Farmers Insurance Open. Last year, Harrington had two rounds of 72 here and missed the cut. -- Brian Wacker
ROMERO RIGHT BEHIND (3:50 p.m.): As impressive as Dustin Johnson's 64 was, how about Andres Romero's 65? The latter came with a double bogey on the par-4 ninth, where he hacked out of a fairway trap before finding a greenside bunker and then two-putting from inside 15 feet.
Fortunately for Romero, the rest of his round was much better. He closeed with four straight birdies, including one on the difficult par-4 18th, where he hit his approach 10 just inside 11 feet. On the day, he hit all but four greens in regulation and, like Johnson, took just 25 putts. -- Brian Wacker
Below is a look at Romero's scorecard from today. Click here to replay his round with Shot Tracker.
MICKELSON ON THE COURSE (3:34 p.m.): It didn't take Phil Micklelson long to move up the leaderboard. He birdied the par-5 opening hole, two-putting from 15 feet and is now 1 under. You can follow his round live with Shot Tracker by clicking here. -- Brian Wacker
JOHNSON IN WITH 64 (3:20 p.m.): Dustin Johnson is the early leader, though he'll probably still be leading when the day is over after a 7-under 64. There were two rounds better than that here last year -- both by Phil Mickelson, who shot 63 in the first round and 62 in the third round.
Johnson's round was incredibly clean, at least for a guy who hit just half his fairways. Johnson also finished with just 25 putts -- 15 of 17 from 10 feet and in and 2 of 4 from 10-15 feet. That's what happens when you're approach shot distance is just 25 feet, 10 inches. It's also his first bogey-free round since the final round of last year's Deutsche Bank Championship. -- Brian Wacker
Below is a look at Johnson's scorecard from today. Click here to replay his round with Shot Tracker.
SIM'S STRUGGLES (3:05 p.m.): This season has been feast or famine for 2009 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year Michael Sim. In his first start of the year, he tied for 63rd. Last week in San Diego, he tied for second. Today? He's near the bottom of the leaderboard with a 6-over 77 that included a 40 on the front nine at Riviera.
Sim, who made four-straight bogeys at one point, hit just five fairways and eight greens in regulation while taking 32 putts. Yikes. Sim's 77, by the way, is three shots off his career-worst PGA TOUR round -- he shot 80 in the opening round of the 2007 Stanford St. Jude Championship. -- Brian Wacker
DUSTIN THE COURSE (2:50 p.m.): Who says players don't scoreboard watch? Y.E. Yang just tweeted, "Wow - Dustin!"
Yang was referring to Dustin Johnson, who just made his seventh birdie of the day to get to 7 under and what is now a three-stroke lead with one hole left in his round. It's early, but it would be asking a lot for someone in the afternoon wave to catch that number.
Johnson has hit just seven of 13 fairways on what is a fairly tight Riviera course. He's also hit a ho-hum 12 of 17 greens in regulation. In other words, his short game has been very good so far with just 23 putts. -- Brian Wacker
JOHNSON IN THE LEAD (2:35 p.m.): Dustin Johnson just made his sixth birdie of the day and is now 6 under and closing in on a bogey-free day. If Johnson, who has two top-16 finishes and a missed cut in three events, can make par or better on his last two holes, it will be his first bogey-free round of the season.
It's easy to see why Johnson hasn't made a bogey. He has 10 one-putts through 16 holes with an average approach shot distance to the pin of 26 feet, 9 inches. -- Brian Wacker
YOU TWEET, WE ANSWER (2:05 p.m.): "How did the ones who went for it score on the hole?" -- @golferinkilt
The "hole" in question is the 315-yard par-4 10th. So far, the field is 0-for-17 in hitting the green off the tee. That said, the players who have gone for it have fared well with a 3.76 scoring average, compared to a 4.02 average for those players who haven't gone for it. That's a collective average of 3.950, by the way, or 10th most-difficult on the golf course. -- Brian Wacker
WEATHER UPDATE (1:50 p.m.): Thursday dawned bright and sunny, but the clouds are starting to roll in -- and the outlook for the next two days isn't good. There's an 80-percent chance of rain on Friday and a 70-percent chance on Saturday. The total accumulation could be an inch. -- Helen Ross
INSIDE THE NUMBERS (1:40 p.m.): One very big reason to like Padraig Harrington, Rory Sabbatini and Adam Scott for your fantasy golf team this week: They rank second, third and fifth, respectively, in career stroke average at Riviera.
Obviously Scott is the biggest question mark among that group, but he does have a good track record here. See below for more. -- Brian Wacker
| Career stroke averages at Riviera (min. 8 rounds) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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CLOSE CALLS (1:30 p.m.): The first four PGA TOUR events this season have been decided by one stroke. The last time that happened was in 2002. What will happen this week? If this season or past tournaments here are any indication, it should be another close finish.
There have been 16 playoffs at Riviera with five coming since 1998. Dating back to 1989, the tournament has ended in a playoff (6) or with a one-stroke win (8) 14 times -- including Phil Mickelson's one-stroke win last year. -- Brian Wacker
RYO HYPE (1:25 p.m.): The pre-tournament hoopla surrounding Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa wasn't quite as intense as it was a year ago when he made his PGA TOUR debut. Who knows if there's a correlation but he's playing much better this year.
Ishikawa has played seven holes and is 3 under, which leaves him two strokes off the lead. The 18-year-old prodigy made a 16-footer for his first birdie, a 23-footer for his second and just holed an 11-foot putt at the 16th hole for his third.
A year ago, Ishikawa shot a 73 in the first round at Riviera and followed with a 71 in the second. He played in six TOUR events last year and made the cut at the Transitions Championship (where he finished 71st) and the PGA (where he tied for 56th).
Ishikawa has already won six times on the Japan Tour. -- Helen Ross
LEADERBOARD CHECK (1:12 p.m.): It's still very early in the opening round of the Northern Trust Open, but Dustin Johnson's 5-under total through the first 10 holes should stand up pretty well today.
Johnson, who leads by one for the moment, has been really good with his approaches and putting so far, hitting eight of 10 greens in regulation while taking just 14 putts. And he just hit his approach on No. 2 (he started on the back) to 8 inches.
Are we witnessing a star in the making? Maybe. Johnson, who will turn 26 this year, already has two career wins on the PGA TOUR. He's also extremely long and at least this week flashing some strong iron play. Don't be surprised if he's on the U.S. Ryder Cup team later this year, either. -- Brian Wacker
YOU TWEET, WE ANSWER (12:45 p.m.): "Why would you risk it with the new groove rules? Lay back where the full shot allows you to get it closer." -- @KFHightower
The above tweet was in reaction to a player each of the last two weeks laying up on a par-5, and the point made by the tweeter is a valid one for sure. A lot of players feel less comfortable hitting out of the rough with the new grooves in play than they do hitting a full wedge shot.
Here at Riviera, it's about going for it on a par-4, the 315-yard 10th hole. So far, only a dozen players out of 47 have attempted to drive the green. None have it hit. The result? The hole is playing over par right now with a stroke average of 4.044. -- Brian Wacker
YOU TWEET, WE ANSWER (12:30 p.m.): "Will Geoff Ogilvy still be leading the money list on Sunday evening? He's only played one event." -- @CCPJones
That's what happens when you win the event with the most lucrative payout of the year so far -- $1.12 million. To answer your question, though, it obviously depends what everyone in the field does. The payout to the winner here is about $30,000 more than what Ogilvy got for winning the SBS Championship.
ANOTHER ROR-ING START (12:20 p.m.): Rory Sabbatini hasn't played Riviera nearly as much as Fred Couples or Corey Pavin, but the South African's record here is just as impressive. Sabbatini has four career top-10s in the event, including three in the last four years. He also won in 2006 and was runner-up in 2002. He's lurking near the top of the leaderboard again today at 2 under through his first six holes, just one shot back of a group of four players that includes Dustin Johnson. -- Brian Wacker
RIVIERA SUCCESS STORIES (12:13 p.m.): There have been seven players to win back-to-back titles at Riviera. No one, however, has won three in a row. That's what Phil Mickelson will be trying to do this week, and if it weren't for a playoff loss to Charles Howell III in the 2007 event, he'd be going for four straight. Set your watch: Mickelson will tee off at 3:14 p.m. ET.
Meanwhile, Fred Couples will be making his 28th consecutive start in this event. He's made the cut here 25 of 27 times and has a ridiculous 13 career top-10s, including wins in 1990 and 1992. Couples will go off at 3:25 p.m. ET. -- Brian Wacker
GOING FOR THE GREEN (12 p.m.): Earlier this morning, Geoff Ogilvy said that it's hard to understand why there aren't more holes like Riviera's 315-yard 10th hole -- i.e. drivable par-4s. It's a very valid point from an extremely astute player in Ogilvy. And players, in general, love holes like this.
Last year, the 10th hole at Riviera ranked seventh on TOUR in terms of players who went for the green in one (58 percent of the field went for it). Today, none of the nine players who have gone for it have hit it -- the closest was Angel Cabrera, who found the back bunker and landed 53 feet, 2 inches away.
See the chart below for more on the top seven holes, or click here for the full list. -- Brian Wacker
| Drivable par-4 holes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top 25 drivable par-4 holes in 2009, based on percentage of players who went for the green | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TWEET OF THE DAY (11:45 a.m.): "I am getting ready for the first round @Ntrustopen. Lori went to the doc this morning and she is still 2 cm dilated. No change from Tues. I am going to play today and see how things go. If she is still doing ok I will continue. I can't wait to meet our little girl!!" -- @DAPoints
That tweet came courtesy of D.A. Points, who won't tee off for another few hours. Points and wife Lori are expecting their first child what sounds like any minute. Points is coming off a tie for ninth at last week's Farmers Insurance Open. -- Brian Wacker
SEASON DEBUTS (11:30 a.m.): There are several players -- Padraig Harrington, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim, Adam Scott and Ryo Ishikawa -- making their PGA TOUR season debut this week.
Only Harrington and Furyk are on the golf course currently -- Harrington is 1 under through four holes, Furyk even par through four holes. Ishikawa will tee off in about 15 minutes, while Kim and Scott don't go off until 3:30 p.m. and 3:14 p.m. ET.
What can we expect from these guys? It's hard to say, obviously, but they all come into this season with a lot of question marks.
Harrington: Will he be the Harrington we saw the second half of last year when he closed with six-straight top-10s, or the Harrington that missed two of his first three cuts, including here?
Furyk: He hasn't won since 2007, but he did have 11 top-10s last season. One thing to keep an eye on with Furyk is his greens in regulation, which has fallen off a bit the last couple of years.
Kim: "I would say a step back, but at the same time, I can't judge myself on one year," Kim said of his 2009 season. "I was hitting it so far off line, I've never had to hit so many irons off tees just because I was scared of hitting it in the water or out of bounds, and learning how to manage the golf course better." Riviera is certainly a golf course he'll need to manage well to have a chance.
Scott: At one point, Scott missed a career-worst six-straight cuts in 2009. He showed signs of turning it around -- albeit slowly -- at Turning Stone and The Presidents Cup. Maybe he'll continue to do so at a place where he won in 2005 and finished runner-up in 2006.
Ishikawa: If Ishikawa can shoot the same number under par that there are Japanese photographers and members of the media at Riviera this week, he'd run away with the title. Ishikawa showed a lot of maturity at The Presidents Cup last year. Now we'll see how he does in regular TOUR competition. -- Brian Wacker
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