First-round notebook: Q-school

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The weather for the opening round at Bear Lakes Country Club was windy with the wind blowing at 10-20 mph out of the south-southeast and gusts up to 30 mph. A couple of brief showers hit the course in the afternoon and more rain is predicted for Thursday. Temperatures reached into the mid-80s.

• Troy Merritt posted a 5-under 67 on the Links Course to take the opening-round lead at the 108-hole PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament. He leads Jay Williamson (Lakes Course) by one shot and Ty Harris (Links), Billy Horschel (Links) and Andrew Buckle (Links) by two strokes.

• The 24-year-old Merritt recently wrapped up his rookie season on the Nationwide Tour, finishing No. 39 on the money list after making 12 cuts in 17 starts. His lone top-10 finish was a victory at the Mexico Open. Merritt is participating in the final stage of q-school for the second straight year, having finished in a tie for 137th last year to earn conditional status on the Nationwide Tour in 2009.

• Jay Williamson is making his seventh start at q-school's final stage since 1990 with 1997 the only year he failed to earn his TOUR card. The years he was successful included 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2008. Williamson finished the 2009 season ranked 184th on the money list.

• Four players who earned their TOUR card for 2010 by graduating from the Nationwide Tour are seeking to improve their position this week: Chris Baryla (No. 19; 76 in the first round), Steve Wheatcroft (No. 20; 74), Vance Veazey (No. 23; 73) and Mathias Gronberg (No. 24; 74). These players will not count toward the top 25 and ties who will earn their TOUR card through q-school, or against the next number nearest 50 to determine fully-exempt Nationwide Tour membership.

• Of the 170-man field, Esteban Toledo has the most appearances at the final stage since 1990 with 12 starts. Toledo opened up with a 4-over 76 at the Lakes Course. Toledo is coming off a 29th-place finish on the Nationwide Tour money list. Next on the list (and in the field) with 11 starts at q-school finals since 1990 are Jeff Brehaut (73/Lakes) and Veazey (73/Links).

• Three past q-school medalists are participating this week at Bear Lakes, including 2003 winner Gronberg, 2002 champion Brehaut and 1992 co-medalist Skip Kendall (74/LI).

• Just 22 out of 170 players posted sub-par scores during the first round with six of those scores coming at the Lakes Course and 16 at the Links Course.

• The first-round scoring averages for the two courses: Lakes Course (75.105) and Links Course (74.381).

• The toughest holes on the two courses: the par-4 seventh on the Lakes Course with a scoring average of 4.721 and the par-4 12th on the Links Course with a scoring average of 4.536

• There were no bogey-free rounds during the first round.

• Final stage saw 170 players tee it up after over 1,300 applications were taken for q-school, which included five pre-qualifying sites, 13 first-stage sites and six second-stage sites. Here's a breakdown of the numbers:

436 players participated at five pre-qualifying sites (224 successful)

908 players participated at 13 first-stage sites (305 successful)

469 players participated at six second-stage sites (132 successful)

170 players playing in final stage (including 34 exempt players and four Nationwide Tour top 25)

• Of the 170-man field, 77 players earned their ticket into the six-day event by successfully navigating the first two stages. Of those players, four had to additionally go through previous stages: Mark Anderson (75/Links), Ray Beaufils (79/Links), Sunny Kim (72/Lakes), Grant Leaver (75/Links).

• By the numbers: The top 25 players and ties at the conclusion of the tournament will receive 2010 TOUR cards, while the next number of players nearest 50 will receive full status on the Nationwide Tour. All remaining players will have conditional status on the Nationwide Tour in 2010.