Day 1 recap: Morning glory -- for almost everybody
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor
DULUTH, Ga. -- The morning guys didn't want to cackle. That wouldn't have been very gentlemanly. Plus, they know what goes around, comes around -- and that the golf gods have a habit of smiting those who dare show a little disrespect for their good fortune.
But it was clear on Thursday in the first round of the AT&T Classic that if you had a morning tee time, you should have felt lucky. Make that very lucky. You avoided the rains, were able to play in soft -- but not soaked greens -- at TPC Sugarloaf and had a chance to post a low number.
That's why four of the five co-leaders did in the morning, shooting 6-under 66s that only veteran Kenny Perry could match in the torrential rain the afternoon group endured. The clouds were grey all day, but the skies really didn't open up until Jonathan Kaye, Ryan Palmer, Jonathan Byrd and Parker McLachlin were safely back in their rooms, resting comfortably with their feet up and enjoying the fact that their clothes or shoes didn't need much drying out.
"It's always nice to catch a good end of the draw because it doesn't always happen that way," McLachlin said. "I've caught the bad end plenty of time when you have played in the morning and you are expecting it to be calm (but) it's really windy. And then right when you finish, the wind just dies down.
"You're like, 'That's no fun. That's not fair.' "
Players teeing off in the afternoon faced a course that was nearly 1.5 strokes harder than the morning group. But that's not the whole story. The conditions were just miserable. The rain poured relentlessly, play was stopped once for 31 minutes, and groups were so backed up that players had to endure waits of 30 minutes or more on some tees, particularly at Nos. 9 and 18. And they weren't exactly cooling their heels in pleasant conditions. Ultimately, play had to be stopped with 35 players still not finished.
That's why makes Perry's round of 66 so impressive. Not only did he rebound from the final-round 81 he shot last Sunday at THE PLAYERS Championship while playing in the last group with Paul Goydos, but he did so under poor conditions. Of the eight bogey-free rounds played Thursday, just two came from the afternoon group -- Perry and John Mallinger, who finished with a 4-under 68.
| 35 | The number of players who did not complete their first rounds Thursday due to the heavy rains |
| 5 | The number of players tied for the first-round lead, the most after the first round in tournament history |
| 1 | The total inches of rain that were measured at TPC Sugarloaf on Thursday |
Perry didn't mince words. "The last few holes were brutal," he said.
So will equalizing conditions come in the second round? Will those who got lucky in the first round face the poor weather when they tee off in Friday afternoon?
According to weather reports, no. There's a 30 percent chance of rain in the morning, then gradual clearing in the afternoon. Indeed, that's not fair.
But wait ...
The winds are supposed to kick up Friday afternoon. Golfers, if you need reminded, hate wind. Just ask Paul Goydos, whose playoff fate last Sunday against Sergio Garcia was determined in part because the winds kicked up just as his approach shot was headed to the 17th island green at TPC Sawgrass.
Winds of 8-15 miles per hour are expected in the morning, then will speed up to 15-25 mph in the afternoon. Maybe there is justice after all.
Or maybe the forecast will be wrong.
"We're so used to the weather changing so much that ... I don't pay too much attention to it until maybe 12 hours before, or even when you wake up," McLachlin said. "... What's the point of getting all wrapped up in all that?"
Indeed, it's best just to look out the window once you finish that first cup of coffee. And then pray.
SHOT OF THE DAY
Garrett Willis started his first round in spectacular fashion. Willis, winner of the Touchstone Energy Tucson Open in 2001, eagled the par-4 434-yard first hole when he holed out from 154 yards. That's just the fifth eagle ever recorded in more than 4,700 TOUR rounds played at TPC Sugarloaf since 1997. Later in the day, Tom Byrum added his name to the list when he holed out from 140 yards. Both approach shots had to safely navigate the protective bunkers in the front-right of the green to a pin tucked on the right side.
Unfortunately for Willis, he found trouble a few holes later at the par-5 4th, suffering three penalty strokes en route to a quintuple 10 and eventually finishing at 3 over for his round.
| The list of eagles at No. 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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ROUND OF THE DAY
Kenny Perry, 6-under 66. As mentioned earlier, he was the only of the five co-leaders Thursday to start his round in the afternoon. Amazingly, he managed to avoid carding any bogeys. Three birdies going out, three birdies coming in, nice and tidy, right? Yeah, sure. "I was hitting knuckleballs off the driver," Perry said. "I mean, it looked like a pitcher who throws a knuckleball. I never seen balls do that. But I was able to recover."
| Kenny Perry's scorecard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
"There's some nice little cardiac hills out there for you to get your heart rate up right before you've got to hit. It's kind of like the Tour de France." -- Jonathan Kaye on TPC Sugarloaf, one of the PGA TOUR's most strenous courses to walk
QUOTE OF THE DAY II
"It was a quiet, violent breakup -- let's put it that way." -- Ryan Palmer on throwing his putter in the trash after a missed cut at the John Deere Classic last year
• VIDEO: Palmer talks about his 66 
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TIP OF THE CAP
Parker McLachlin was struggling with his swing. Actually, it wasn't so much his swing, but his head. He kept turning it ever so slightly when striking the ball, and it began to affect his accuracy. So while on the practice green prior to Thursday's first round, Parker and his caddie Scott Gneiser -- the former caddie for David Toms -- worked on a quick fix. Gneiser stood in front of McLachlin and held the bill of the player's cap to prevent his head from moving during impact.
Sounds simple? Maybe so. But it worked. McLachlin, who had been struggling to find his swing on his first nine, remembered the lesson and applied it. After going out in 34 (he started his round on No. 10), McLachlin found his stroke and birdied four of the first six holes coming in to finish with a 32 and an overall 66 to tie for the lead.
"It was kind of a combination of both of us figuring it out," McLachlin said. "He said, 'Looks to me like your head's going back a little bit.' I said, 'Yeah, that's kind of what it's feeling like.' He said, 'Why don't I just hold your hat here.' So it was kind of a joint effort to come to that conclusion.
NOT THAT GREAT
Stewart Cink lives within walking distance of TPC Sugarloaf. He's also made more cuts and has more rounds under par than any other PGA TOUR player since the AT&T Classic moved to the course in 1997.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that he automatically enjoys the home cooking that might naturally come with waking up in your own home during a PGA TOUR event. He said that because he's "playing at home," there are more demands on him.
"There was a time when I really, really enjoyed playing this one because it's in my backyard and all, and I still enjoy that part of it," Cink said. "But there's more going on now than there use to be when I'm playing and it's a distraction.
"But also at the same time I kind of enjoy the challenge. ... I have to do a little bit more to stay focus and it's good practice for big tournaments like majors when there's other distractions."
| What the leaders said ... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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THREE THINGS TO WATCH FRIDAY
Zach Johnson -- The two-time AT&T Classic champion has recorded nine consecutive under-par rounds at TPC Sugarloaf, including the 3-under 69 he carded on Thursday. A nice safe start to his title defense. He can do little wrong here.
Weather -- It's not supposed to be as bad as Thursday. Having said that, the chance of rain still exist, followed by wind in the afternoon. If you're a grinder, you'll thrive, because it could be another long day on the course.
The short par-4 13th -- It's a drivable par-4 at 310 yards. Camilo Villegas drove it Thursday and made eagle with a 23-foot putt on his way to a 4-under 68. But if you go for the green and don't reach it, you might have a tricky wedge shot.
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