Round 1 Notes: Q-school final stage

A total of 1,389 players sent in applications to participate in the 2010 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. Six pre-qualifiers, along with 13 first- and six second-stage regionals were held to reduce the field. A total of 166 players advanced to the final qualifying stage, which consists of six rounds with no cut.

The top 25 players and ties will receive PGA TOUR cards for 2011. The next nearest-number-to-50 will earn fully exempt Nationwide Tour cards for 2011, and the remainder of the field will receive conditional Nationwide Tour status.

Nine players qualified by making it through all three stages -- Todd Bailey, Jimmy Brandt, Dustin Garza, Seath Lauer, Richard Lee, David Lingmerth, Eric Onesi, Blake Parks and Brett Waldman.

A total of 496 players teed off in the six pre-qualifiers and competed for 248 spots (and ties).

A total of 927 players teed off in the 13 first-stage qualifiers and competed for 277 spots (and ties).

A total of 448 players teed off in the six second-stage qualifiers and competed for 116 spots (and ties).

A total of 45 players were exempt into the final stage of the tournament.

FIRST ROUND NOTES:

Weather: Highs in the low 60s with winds out of the NW, gusting 20-25 mph.

• Kyle Stanley posted a 7-under 65 on the Crooked Cat (CC) to take the opening-round lead at the 108-hole PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. Scott Weatherly (CC), Ben Martin (Panther Lake) and Joseph Bramlett (CC) opened at 5-under.

• Stanley, who played in 26 of 29 events on the 2010 Nationwide Tour, never led after any round. He made 16 cuts and finished No. 35 in earnings. Among his six top-10 finishes was a career-best T4 effort at the Melwood Prince George's County Open.

• Scott Verplank (1997), Frank Lickliter (2007) and Troy Merritt (2009) are the only players since 1992 to hold/share the lead after each round of the tournament. Verplank is the only player to hold the lead outright for all six rounds.

• Leaders at Previous q-schools Held at Orange County National:

• Scores needed to secure PGA TOUR status at Orange County National in previous years:

• Double heart-transplant recipient Erik Compton stood at 4-under through 11 holes at Panther Lake, but carded bogeys on Nos. 4, 7 and 9 to fall to a 1-under 70. He made seven starts on the PGA TOUR in 2010, with a T30 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational his best finish.

• Brett Waldman, caddie of PGA TOUR member Camilo Villegas, opened with a 3-under 68 at Panther Lake. His rollercoaster round included three birdies, a double bogey on the par-4 seventh hole and eagles at the par-5 10th and 18th holes.

• Four players who earned their PGA TOUR card for 2011 by graduating (top 25) from the Nationwide Tour are seeking to improve their position this week at the q-school finals: Jim Herman (NWT No. 19, opened with a 1-under 70/PL), Joe Affrunti (NWT No. 22, 3-over 74/PL), Michael Putnam (NWT No. 24, even-par 71/PL) and Justin Hicks (No. 25, 1-over 72/PL). These players will not count toward the top 25 and ties who will earn their PGA TOUR card through q-school, or against the next number nearest 50 to determine fully-exempt Nationwide Tour membership.

• Of the 162-man field, Chris Tidland has the most appearances at final stage since 1990, with 12 starts. He opened on Wednesday with a 3-over 74 at Panther Lake.

• Fifty-three players are making their first appearance at q-school finals. Of that group, four are among the top six players after the first round: Kyle Stanley (1), Ben Martin (T2), Joseph Bramlett (T2) and Brett Swedberg (T5).

• Two past q-school medalists are participating this week at Orange County National: 2006 medalist George McNeill (73/CC) and 1992 co-medalist Skip Kendall (76/CC).

• The first-round scoring averages for the two courses -- Crooked Cat (72.650) and Panther Lake (72.390).

• The toughest holes on the two courses -- the par-4 18th on Crooked Cat with a scoring average of 4.288 and the par-4 7th on Panther Lake with a scoring average of 4.415.

• There were two bogey-free rounds during the first round. Billy Mayfair, making his first appearance at the q-school finals since 1988, carded a bogey-free 2-under 69 at Panther Lake, while Tommy Biershenk turned in a 1-under 71 at Crooked Cat.

• Players withdrawing prior to the start of play: Keegan Bradley, David Hearn, Alistair Presnell, Peter Tomasulo. Bradley (No. 14), Hearn (No. 21) and Tomasulo (No. 23) all earned 2011 PGA TOUR cards by finishing in the top-25 on the 2010 Nationwide Tour money list. Presnell ended the year No. 37 on the Nationwide Tour money list.