First round: Johnson, Turnesa put on a show
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Zach Johnson had another "boring" day on the course. Not that that's a bad thing for a player who relates boring to efficient.
Coming off an unexpected victory last week in the Texas Open, the 2007 Masters champion shot a 10-under 62 on Thursday for a share of the first-round lead with Marc Turnesa in the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
"All in all, it was pretty boring," Johnson said. "I feel boring golf is one where you hit the ball on the fairway, hit the ball on the green and give yourself a chance at a birdie. It was boring because I hit a lot of fairways. I missed one on seven just because I hit it too far. Then, I believe I missed a fairway on the 11th, and that was it. I picked my target, swung at it and dun, dun, dun, da, da."
After closing with weekend rounds of 62 and 64 in San Antonio, Johnson had 10 birdies on a sunny, windless day at TPC Summerlin. He opened with a 4-under 32 on the back nine, then birdied Nos. 1-5 and finished with another birdie on No. 9.
"The greens were in great shape," Johnson said. "The only things you really have to pay attention to is where the Stratosphere (tower) is and the roll of the fairway."
The 62s were a stroke off the course record set by Davis Love III in 2001.
Johnson's victory last week was his fourth on the PGA TOUR.
"I think it's just the confidence," Johnson said. "Confidence in that my fundamentals are going in the right direction and confidence in my execution being good, especially down the stretch."
Turnesa also birdied the par-4 ninth to complete a bogey-free round.
"I'm just trying to make a lot of birdies because it's going to take a lot of them to win this tournament," said Turnesa, a PGA TOUR rookie. "There's no defense without the wind. I came in with no expectations at all, and that's probably why I played well. This week will be all about putting and, obviously, I putted great today."
Michael Allen, Nick Watney, Matt Kuchar and Ken Duke opened with 63s, and Canadian Open winner Chez Reavie, Kevin Na, John Mallinger, Nick Flanagan shot 64s. U.S. Ryder Cup players Hunter Mahan and Chad Campbell, a former UNLV star, topped a group at 65.
The 49-year-old Allen also had a bogey-free round.
"I made some 10-footers and a few putts," Allen said. "I didn't make a ton of bombs or anything. Out here, you keep the ball in play and try and make sure you make pars at worst, and stay away from the few tricky shots. Then, the rest of the course, you just know you've got to make birdies, that's for sure.
"I saw the scoreboard when we were on 15 or 16 with 9 under. That's (Johnson's score of 62) pretty good after you come back from winning last week to come out here and put up 62. He's a great competitor."
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The par-5, 492-yard third was the easiest with a Thursday scoring average of 4.288.
The par-3, 239-yard eighth was the toughest with a Thursday scoring average of 3.212.
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On the par-4, 341-yard 15th hole -- which is a drivable par-4 for most players -- Jason Gore chipped in for eagle from the right rough. 
Two players, including last week's winner Zach Johnson, opened with 10-under 62s in the first round. Neither Johnson nor Turnesa had any bogeys on Thursday.| QUOTE OF THE DAY, PART I | ||
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GOING LOW IN LAS VEGAS
The first round was kind to many players at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, including the two players who shot 62 in the first round. How did that compare to other low Round 1 scores in 2008?
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RIGHT AT HOME
Kevin Na is feeling at home this week. Literally, since he just moved to Las Vegas in September. He lives on The Strip in Turnberry Towers with his brother, who is attending grad school in Sin City.
"I figured I would move in with him and be his roomie. It's working out pretty good. I'm gone most of the time so he takes care of things," Na said.
Because he now makes his home in this week's host city, Na said he feels comfortable on the greens and the course, which he estimates he's played about five times following his move. He opened with a 64 on Thursday, so he's clearly locked in on some course secret.
"Well, I think everything (on the greens) does break towards The Strip a little bit. Some of the holes I do pay attention, but, you know, I've played this tournament a few times and I know some of the pins," Na said. "It goes quick downhill, so you got to be careful not to get too aggressive on those downhillers, because you can easily hit it four or five feet by."
This is Na's fourth year at the tournament in Las Vegas but he had one of his best moments at TPC Summerlin on a non-competition day. He was playing a practice round last week and made an ace on the par-3, 196-yard 17th hole.
"It landed and I was like, 'Don't go in' and it went in. I was like, 'Man, save it for the tournament,'" the 25-year-old Na said. "Last time I had one was 13 years ago, so felt pretty good about that."
COACH KNIGHT VISITS THE COURSE
Dwaine Knight, the golf coach at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, had a busy day during the first round. He had five former players in the field to follow, including Chad Campbell, Charley Hoffman, Ryan Moore, Chris Riley and Mike Ruiz, and also wanted to check on Nick Watney, whom he has been working with lately.
Knight followed Campbell in the morning and Riley, Moore and Ruiz in the afternoon. Coach said he still keeps in touch with his former players on the PGA TOUR, which also includes Adam Scott.
"All the time, they're always texting me. It's funny, they follow the team and I follow them. Chad just gave me his Ryder Cup hat and one of his shirts. Chris Riley had done that when they played at Oakland Hills, so it's really special," Knight said. "It's a lot of fun watching their careers and seeing their children come along. That's the nice thing about coaching. Not only do you have them in school but you can follow their careers in golf and as parents."
Knight joked that new dad Campbell told him he could change diapers pretty fast, but he'd believe it when he saw it. All in all, Knight says, it's the guys who make his job extra special.
"It's fun to have those relationships with the young men. That's what it's all about," Knight said. "You can have all kinds of trophies but these guys are the real trophies."
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TIGER PRIDE
Another school with several alums on the PGA TOUR is Clemson University, who made college football news at the start of the week. The Tigers football team and their head coach, Tommy Bowden, parted ways this week and he was replaced by interim coach Dabo Swinney, who has a six weeks to resurrect the season.
Charles Warren, who graduated from Clemson in 1998, had a few things to say about his alma mater.
| 2 | How many times Zach Johnson has held the first round lead in a PGA TOUR event. |
| 9 | Number of bogey-free rounds on Thursday. |
| 18.6 | Percentage of time the first-round leader or co-leader has won this year. |
"I'll tell you what, I really think that Dabo Swinney, our wide receivers coach, I like this guy. Everybody that I'm talking to at home, he's rallying the troops. He's got a lot -- he's put about 30,000 more people in the seats for Georgia Tech," Warren said. "We were pretty down, and I'm telling you, it's going to be good."
Being a PGA TOUR golfer, does he have the inside track who might be the permanent head coach?
"We've got a short list of guys that I'm hearing rumors about but you know how that is. Even with inside information, you never know what they're thinking," said Warren after shooting a 65 on Thursday. "I think if (Swinney) wins five games, he's our guy, and I don't think that would be a bad thing."
Other Clemson alums on TOUR include Lucas Glover, Jonathan Byrd and D.J. Trahan.
INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
XM Satellite Radio announcer Fred Albers offers these observations from Thursday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
You won't find Zach Johnson hanging out in Las Vegas casinos this week. "I'm not much of a gambler," said Johnson, "but you can still have a good time here. My wife and mother-in-law are with me. All three of us are going to shows and will have a good time." Shooting a -10 under par 62 is another way to have fun in Las Vegas, which is what Johnson fired in the opening round.
Ken Duke is not going to be playing on TOUR next week but he will play golf. Duke is going to spend Thursday and Friday playing at Augusta National Golf Club. Duke qualified for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola and that earns him an exemption into next year's Masters. Masters participants are invited to play as many practice rounds as they like prior to the tournament.
Frank Lickliter teed off at 11:39 a.m. PT and by 12:00 p.m. he was 2-under par. Lickliter holed a 137-yard 9- iron on the par-4 11th hole for eagle. "It never touched the cup, it never even touched the flag stick," said Lickliter. "I flew it right into the cup."
TIME FOR TEE?
Late/early or early/late? That's the question. As in, would players rather have a late tee time on Thursday and an early one on Friday or vice versa?
On Thursday, Joe Durant was happy to have an early morning. He teed off at 7:28 a.m. PT, and shot a 7-under 65 in calm and warm conditions.
"You're not going to have as many footprints, for one thing," Durant said of the benefits of an early tee time. "(The greens) were still retaining a little bit of moisture. As the day goes on, they obviously dry out and some of the pins get kind of greasy. Some of the slopes around the greens are pretty severe and the ball seems to funnel quite a ways off."
Winds often pick up as the day progresses and the four-time PGA TOUR winner said there was probably a reason why scores were low in the early wave.
"Any time you play in the morning when it's calm," Durant said, "you've got the prime conditions."
THINGS TO WATCH ON FRIDAY
1. The weather. Players raved about the wind-less conditions on Thursday, which basically stripped the course of its defenses. DTN forecasters say the temperature is supposed to remain warm in the second round but the winds may pick up slightly.
2. Marc Turnesa. After losing in a playoff at the Viking Classic several weeks ago -- he led for three rounds, no less -- Turnesa is hungry for a win on the PGA TOUR and is in prime position again at the top of the leaderboard.
3. Nick Watney. He lives in Las Vegas partly because he works with Butch Harmon, the famous golf instructor. Watney hadn't seen Harmon for several months until this week, when they made a few changes to Watney's game. "We worked really hard on my putting," Watney said on Thursday. "It's been by far the weakest fart of my game this year. Butch took a look at that. I putted great today, but I need to keep working on that for sure."
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