Live notes: First round of The Barclays

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Hunter Mahan started his first round at Ridgewood with a bang Thursday by holing out from 98 yards for an eagle at No. 1.

The PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup has started at The Barclays, and PGATOUR.COM's team is on the scene in Paramus, N.J. We'll provide updates all day with our live first-round notes.

FIRST ROUND: Leaderboard | PGA TOUR Shot Tracker | Live FedExCup points projection

MAHAN BY THE NUMBERS: Now that the first-round statistics are complete, here's how Hunter Mahan stacked up in key categories while shooting a 9-under 62 to lead the field by four shots heading into Friday's second round:

You'll note the 23 putts Mahan used was matched by someone else -- specifically, Patrick Sheehan. But Sheehan finished seven shots behind Mahan after shooting a 2-under 69. One difference: Mahan hit 15 greens in regulation; Sheehan hit just seven. -- Mike McAllister (8:07 p.m. ET)

FEDEXCUP NOTES: Players in the top 10 on the FedExCup points list who failed to shoot par or better on Thursday: Geoff Ogilvy (72), Padraig Harrington (72), Stewart Cink (73) and Ryuji Imada (76). ...

Jesper Parnevik is currently the only player outside the top 120 in the FedExCup standings who is in the top 10 through the first round. ...

After the first round, six players in the top 10 on The Barclays leaderboard are not currently in the top 100 on the FedExCup points list: Bo Van Pelt (116), Kevin Streelman (102), Charley Hoffman (105), George McNeill (101), Rich Beem (114) and Jesper Parnevik (139). -- Stewart Moore (7:52 p.m. ET)

KIM VS. BEES: Anthony Kim called the 70 he shot in Thursday's first round "one of the toughest rounds I've ever played. Every hole was behind 18 trees, so (I was) just trying to shoot the ball into the fairway where I got a clean look at the hole."

Kim made four birdies and a trio of bogeys, all of which came on a frustrating back nine. The second birdie came at the third hole, where he also happened to get stung by a bee or a wasp. Kim, who made the turn in 32, wasn't sure what kind of angry insect did the damage.

"It was weird because I had two bees in my pants three holes later," he said. "It was rough out there. The course is hard enough but when the bees start getting you, you're in trouble."

Kim took an antihistamine to make sure that he didn't have an adverse reaction to the bite and said he felt a little lethargic afterwards. One brief interview after his round and the 23-year-old phenom was headed to the range.

"I had some good momentum going and it felt like things could turn around for me and unfortunately, I couldn't finish it off," said Kim, who bogeyed the 18th hole. "Hopefully I can work on that on the range today and get it back for tomorrow." -- Helen Ross (7:45 p.m. ET)

WEIR BEARD IMAGES: As promised, here are a couple of photos of Mike Weir with his playoff beard (click here to see our original note on Weir's facial hair). Special thanks to Hunter Martin of Getty Images for snapping these two shots of the scruffy Canadian, who shot a 1-over 72 in Thursday's first round. -- Mike McAllister (7:30 p.m. ET)

18-HOLE LEADERS: Of The Barclays' first 41 tournaments, dating back to the inaugural event in 1967, the 18-hole leader/co-leader has gone on to win nine times, with four of those champions leading outright from wire to wire. Will Thursday's leader Hunter Mahan, who has a four-stroke lead going into the second round, join that group? -- Mike McAllister (7:10 p.m. ET)

MAHAN WITH THE LEAD: Hunter Mahan will have the 18-hole lead for the fifth time in his PGA TOUR career. Here are the previous times he has held at least a share of the 18-hole lead: -- Stewart Moore (6:40 p.m. ET)

NOTABLES ARE IN: Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, Trevor Immelman and Anthony Kim didn't tear up the course, but they're in decent shape after each finished at 1-under 70 on a course that played tougher in the afternoon than the morning. Ernie Els, meanwhile, just signed an even-par 71.

Of the 20 players still on the course, just four are under par. -- Mike McAllister (6:22 p.m. ET)

HART AT 4 UNDER: Dudley Hart is making just his fifth TOUR start in two months, but he showed no rust in shooting a 4-under 67, the best round posted by any player thus far in the afternoon group. For Hart, that's his fourth opening round under 70 in those last five starts.

Now that Hart is done, it appears the only player who has a chance to catch Paul Casey (5 under) for second behind Hunter Mahan is Ryan Palmer, who is also at 4 under with three holes to play.

By the way, one of Palmer's playing partners, Angel Cabrera, has also heated up with three consecutive birdies starting at the 13th, and is now 3 under for his round. The third member of the group, Tim Herron, is also under par at 1 under. -- Mike McAllister (5:50 p.m. ET)

BACK NINE: While Anthony Kim has cooled off on the back nine with bogeys at 11 and 13, Bubba Watson has heated up. Consecutive birdies at 11 and 12 have Watson at 3 under for his round, just one off the pace set by Dudley Hart, who has the best round of the afternoong group at 4 under with one hole left to play. -- Mike McAllister (5:15 p.m. ET)

LEADING BY FOUR: Hunter Mahan currently has a four-stroke lead, thanks to his 9-under 62. Provided no player in the afternoon group can improve on Paul Casey's 5-under 66, Mahan would have the first four-stroke lead after 18 holes on the PGA TOUR this season.

The last time a player held a four-stroke lead after the first 18 holes of a TOUR event was at the 2007 Valero Texas Open, when Jesper Parnevik opened with a round of 9-under 61 and a four-shot lead over 10 players. Parnevik eventually finished second after losing to Justin Leonard in a playoff. -- Stewart Moore (5 p.m. ET)

9 UNDER OR BETTER: Hunter Mahan's 9-under 62 at Ridgewood on Thursday not only was a course record, it was just the 16th round of 9 under or better on the PGA TOUR this season. Here's the list. -- Mike McAllister (4:50 p.m. ET)

HOT ROD: Rod Pampling began his round on the 10th tee and now is on his second nine. When he made the turn, he seemed to find another gear, as he reeled off four consecutive birdies on holes 1, 2, 3 and 4 to move to 2 under on his round.

The four straight birdies is the longest birdie streak of the day. The best birdie streak on TOUR this year is six straight, done nine times thus far, the latest by Lucas Glover in the final round of the Buick Open in late June. -- Mike McAllister (4:30 p.m. ET)

KIM LOOKING GOOD: Anthony Kim has made the turn at 3-under thanks to birdie putts at the first, third and ninth holes. His first two birdie putts were each less than five feet in length; he then drained a birdie putt of just under 10 feet on the ninth hole.

Kim

But it hasn't been all fun and games for Kim, who was stung by a bee on the third hole. XM radio is reporting that a paramedic is following Kim as he completes his round. Kim is allergic to bee stings but has shown no adverse reactions thus far.

In fact, Kim's 3-under total currently is the best first-round score of any of the top 20 players in the FedExCup standings going into the tournament.

To follow Kim's round on PGA TOUR Shot Tracker, click here. -- Mike McAllister (3:55 p.m. ET)

DRIVABLE PAR-4 FIFTH: Mathew Goggin failed to birdie the 291-yard par-4 fifth, although he certainly had a great opportunity; he missed a 6-1/2 foot putt for birdie. Lots of others have birdied the hole, though -- 30 of the first 106 players thus far.

Goggin's thoughts on the hole:

"It's a good little hole. I mean it's at the point where if you can fly it around the green, I think you can knock it on. Today, it was slightly into the breeze, so we decided to lay back and just had a pretty comfortable yardage for a pitch shot.

"But either way, if you go for it and hit it in a bad spot, it becomes a very difficult hole. But apart from that, it should give up some fun golf, especially over the weekend." -- Mike McAllister (3:50 p.m. ET)

TOUGHER: Ridgewood Country Club appears to be playing harder in the afternoon wave. A total of 23 players broke par in the morning round, as compared with 17 currently on the course in red numbers.

In the morning, though, Hunter Mahan shot 62 while Paul Casey had a 66 and Bo Van Pelt, Kevin Streelman and Charley Hoffman each shot 67s. The lowest score in the afternoon right now are the 4 unders being shot by Ryan Palmer and Dudley Hart. -- Helen Ross (3:45 p.m. ET)

PALMER ON FIRE: Will anybody in the afternoon group get close to Hunter Mahan's 9-under 62? Ryan Palmer certainly is off to a good start with birdies on four of his first six holes. That puts him at 4 under and ties him with Dudley Hart for the best scores among the late starters.

Palmer strung together three consecutive birdies on holes 2, 3 and 4, while Hart, who started his round on the 10th hole, has just birdied holes 1, 2 and 3 to begin his second nine. -- Mike McAllister (3:40 p.m. ET)

EAGLE ON 5: The first eagle of the day has been recorded on the drivable par-4 fifth hole ... but it wasn't done with the putter. Instead, Robert Allenby recorded his eagle on the 291-yard fifth by holing out from one of the six greenside bunkers.

Thus far, six eagles have been posted in the first round. Surprisingly, just two have come on par-5 holes (both on the 594-yard 17th). The other four have come on par-4 holes, including an eagle from 153 yards by Matt Goggin on the par-4 fourth. -- Mike McAllister (3:15 p.m. ET)

THOUGHTS ON MAHAN: Think a 9-under 62 doesn't get everybody else's attention in the field? Here are a few comments from the early finishers once they saw Hunter Mahan's 62 atop the leaderboard:

"When he gets hot, he does do some crazy stuff," Matt Goggin said of Mahan. "He's shot some low rounds in the past."

"It never ceases to amaze me, the PGA TOUR," Kenny Perry said. "There are tournaments where I'll shoot six or seven under and that's as good as I can play and the winner is 21 under and I'm thinking, 'How did they do that? Did they quit after 15 or what?' "

"I was surprised to see so many birdies ... It's certaily a lower round than I saw happening," Phil Mickelson said. -- Mike McAllister (2:35 p.m. ET)

TWAY'S KID: Bob Tway withdrew from The Barclays on Wednesday so he could continue to caddy for his 20-year-old son, Kevin, who attends Oklahoma State, in the U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2. The two make a good team -- Kevin won his second match Thursday morning, beating Robbie Fillmore of Provo, Utah, 3 and 2. Click here for more on Kevin's match. -- Helen Ross (2:31 p.m. ET)

STREELMAN'S LOCAL TIES: TOUR rookie Kevin Streelman, who opened with a 4-under 67, is playing a bit of a home game this week as his parents grew up in nearby Glen Rock, N.J. and his grandparents are buried in a cemetery adjacent to the golf course at Ridgewood Country Club.

Streelman

Streelman said his parents, who now live in Chicago, arrived in New Jersey on Tuesday and "went straight to their favorite old hot dog place and saw their old high school." Added Streelman: "It's kind of a meaningful place. Wasn't expected it to be."

After missing the cut in five out of six tournaments from the Puerto Rico Open to the Wachovia Championship, Streelman, who went to school at Duke and lives in his hometown of Winfield, Ill., seems to have righted the ship.

He made 10 made cuts in a row heading into The Barclays. In that stretch of 10 tournaments, Streelman has moved from No. 138 to No. 102 in the FedExCup points list. And now with his 67, he's put himself in position to make an even bigger move up the standings if he continues to play well.

"This week I'm trying to have fun," Streelman said. "I have a ton of fraternity brothers and friends in the area and they are all in the crowd screaming."

For a rookie profile on Streelman, click here. -- Stewart Moore/Mike McAllister (2:13 p.m. ET)

HARDEST/EASIEST THUS FAR: Thus far, the players are definitely taking advantage of Ridgewood's drivable par-4 fifth hole. For the first 75 players to go through the 291-yard "five and dime" hole, the stroke average was 0.240 below par, making it the easiest hole on the course. Of those 75 players, 22 players had made birdies, although no eagles had yet to be recorded. (For more on the fifth hole, click here.)

Meanwhile, the par-4, 475-yard 12th was playing the most difficult. Of the first 84 players through that hole, 35 had recorded bogey, as the hole was playing to a stroke average of 0.345 above par.

In all, the back nine is playing roughly a half-stroke more difficult than the front nine. -- Mike McAllister (2 p.m. ET)

SUPERGROUP IS DONE: The trio of Kenny Perry, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington -- the top players in FedExCup points in the playoffs -- are done for the day. Perry finished at 2-under 69, Mickelson at 1-under 70 and Harrington at 1-over 72. You can replay their rounds via PGA TOUR Shot Tracker below. -- Mike McAllister (1:25 p.m. ET)

MORE MAHAN: Thursday's round of 62 marks Hunter Mahan's 12th round of 64 or lower in his PGA TOUR career.

Mahan has carded a round of 62 five times in his career, including a third-round 62 at the 2007 Barclays at Westchester Country Club. That 62 at last year's Barclays propelled Mahan from a tie for 31st to a tie for third and into Sunday's final pairing with K.J. Choi and eventual Barclays champion Steve Stricker. Mahan carded a final-round 76 and tied for 17th. -- Stewart Moore (1:08 p.m.)

MAHAN IN AT 9 UNDER: Hunter Mahan failed to birdie the par-5 17th, but he had one more birdie left in him. Thanks to an approach shot that landed three feet from the pin at No. 18, Mahan birdied the last hole to finish his round at 9-under 62.

"I was surprised to shoot so low," Mahan said. "I didn't have any idea what was going to be a good score out here."

Mahan's 9-under ties for the lowest first round relative to par this year on the PGA TOUR. -- Mike McAllister (1 p.m. ET)

ONLY IN NEW YORK: After his round of 5-under 66, Paul Casey was introduced to Baseball Hall of Famer -- as a Yankee, a manager and as, unofficially, a speaker -- Yogi Berra.

Talking about Yogi, his eyes were saucers. "Yogi Berra,'' Casey said, shaking his head.

Someone then reminded him to always remember the famous Yogi quote, "It isn't over until it's over."

Casey laughed. "I'm going to go in and look up some Yogisms later." -- Melanie Hauser (12:44 p.m. ET)

CASEY'S 66: Paul Casey opened with a 5-under 66 in the first round of The Barclays that left him four strokes off the lead held by Hunter Mahan. Three more rounds like that and the Englishman -- currently 90th on the FedExCup points list as he makes his first Playoffs appearance -- could make a big leap in the FedExCup rankings.

Casey

"(I'm) probably safe for next week, but I'd like to play all four (Playoffs events)," Casey said. "That's the goal."

The Barclays is Casey's fourth straight tournament -- and if he continues to perform well in the Playoffs, he could be playing six straight before the TOUR takes a break in advance of the Ryder Cup, a team Casey dearly wants to make. He is prepared, though.

"I knew I was going to have a run like this," Casey said. "A lot of people asked me why I took three weeks off in the summer before the Open Championship, and this is one of the reasons. A lot of people didn't quite understand it at the time.

"But, you know, I'm fitter than I've ever been, and in order to be that way, I needed to make sure I took time off and work out, and I feel very fresh. I think that's reflected in the golf I've been playing still, and I'd like to make sure I'm fresh for the next few weeks."

Casey, who teed off in the second group of the day off No. 1, got off to a great start, with birdies on three of his first four holes, stumbled near the end of his opening nine, then rallied on the back nine with five birdies against one bogey. He finished his round by sinking a 15-foot birdie from the fringe at 18.

To replay Casey's round on our new PGA TOUR Shot Tracker, click here. -- Helen Ross (12:29 p.m. ET)

THREE STRAIGHT BIRDIES: Thanks to birdies at holes 12, 13 and 14, Hunter Mahan has moved to 8 under with two holes to play in his opening round.

Besides holing out from 98 yards for eagle on No. 1, here are Mahan's seven birdies (he has one bogey) thus far: -- Mike McAllister (12:15 p.m. ET)

WEIR'S FACIAL HAIR: Just got back from the practice range, and it appears Mike Weir, who was hitting irons at the range, is extremely serious about this whole playoff thing.

After his recent Playoffs commercial with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky --who suggested that his fellow Canadian Weir wear a playoff beard like the NHLers do during the Stanley Cup playoffs -- Weir now actually does have a beard.

It's certainly not as full as the fake ZZ Top beard he donned during the commercial shoot -- in fact, his real beard appears to be in the early stages of development -- but it's there. We will endeavor to get a photo of the new Weir before the day is out.

By the way, you can check out Weir's commercial with his fake beard by clicking here and here. -- Mike McAllister (11:45 a.m. ET)

MAHAN SCORCHING: After making the turn at 4-under 31, Hunter Mahan has birdied two of the first three holes on the back nine and is now at 6 under. The two best opening rounds (relative to par) on the PGA TOUR this year are the 9-under 63s that Adam Scott and Johnson Wagner shot in the first round of the Shell Houston Open.

Unless he gets derailed, Mahan appears headed to his best opening round of the season. In his 20 previous first rounds in 2008, he shot in the 60s just four times, the best being 68. In two of his last three starts, Mahan has opened with 80 or worse (80 at the Open Championship; 81 at the PGA Championship). --- Mike McAllister (11:15 a.m. ET)

PICKING THE 18 HOLES: The Ridgewood Country Club course, designed by A. W. Tillinghast in 1929, actually consists of 27 holes, with the three nines designated East, Center and West. To make up the 18 holes for this week's "Championship Course," seven holes were selected from the East, six from the West and five from the center. Here's the breakdown (along with the nickname for each hole): -- Mike McAllister (11 a.m. ET)

THE RYDER CUP FACTOR: Hunter Mahan, who is trying to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team, is certainly stating his case Friday with his hot start Thursday. The top eight players for the Americans were finalized after the PGA Championship. U.S. Captain Paul Azinger has four picks but aside from Mahan (now at 4 under after making the turn at 31) and Rocco Mediate, who has played his first seven holes in 1 under, the likely candidates are exactly getting off to the start they would have liked.

Brandt Snedeker, who ranked 16th when the top eight were finalized, played his first nine holes in 2 over. Zach Johnson is 2 over through six holesSean O'Hair, who was 14th, is 1 over through eight and No. 19 Jeff Quinney is 3 over after eight.

On the other side of the pond, Paul Casey needs a couple of good weeks to impress European Ryder Cup Captain Nick Faldo, and he's also gotten off to a good start. Casey, who ranks 90th in the FedExCup, has played his first 11 holes in 2 under. -- Helen Ross (10:30 a.m. ET)

STREELMAN ALSO HOT: Rookie Kevin Streelman matched Hunter Mahan's eagle at No. 1 by holing out from 90 yards from the intermediate rough. Streelman, who started his first round on the 10th hole, is now on the back nine. After making the turn at 2-under 34, his eagle at No. 1 boosted him to 4 under. That ties him for the early lead with Mahan, who bogeyed the eighth hole to fall back to 4 under. -- Mike McAllister (10:20 a.m. ET)

MAHAN ... WOW: What a start for Hunter Mahan. He eagled the short par-4 380-yard first hole by holing out from 98 yards from the fairway And he's now birdied three of his last four holes (Nos. 4, 5 and 7) and now stands at 5-under on his round. Mahan started the Playoffs in 31st in the reset points standings.

Mahan, by the way, has been running hot/cold the last few months. In his last 10 starts, he has five top 20 finishes (including a T2 at the Travelers Championship), four missed cuts and one withdraw. Considering his start Thursday, apparently this is one of his hot weeks. -- Mike McAllister (10 a.m. ET)

WEATHER UPDATE: In a word ... perfect. And it should stay that way the rest of the week. No chance of showers or thunderstorms until late Sunday night after the tournament ends. Here's the forecast for the rest of the first round and the rest of the week:

THURSDAY: Noon -- Sunny and pleasant; Temperature of 78 degrees. Winds from the east southeast at 5-10 mph. 3 PM -- Mostly sunny and warm. Temperature of 81 degrees. Winds from the southeast at 5-10 mph.

FRIDAY: Partly cloudy and warmer. Low of 63 degrees; high of 84 degrees. Winds from the southeast at 5-10 mph.

SATURDAY: Partly cloudy, warm and more humid. Low of 66 degrees; high of 86 degrees. Wins from the south at 7-12 mph.

SUNDAY: Partly cloudy, warm and humid. Low of 68 degrees; high of 86 degrees. Winds from the southwest at 7-12 mph.-- Mike McAllister (9:45 a.m. ET)