The Live Report: Arnold Palmer Invitational, Round 1
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
WRAPPING UP ROUND 1 (6:28 p.m.): On the surface, Davis Love III and J.B. Holmes might not seem to have much in common. Love will turn 46 this year, while Holmes will turn 28. Love has won 20 times on the PGA TOUR, Holmes twice. To that point, neither has won at Bay Hill, though.
The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard is obviously a long way from being over with three rounds still to play, but the two will share the lead at 6 under heading to Friday. Neither player is in the field for the Masters, either, and a win here would do the trick.
Both have also been plagued by putting, but Thursday they made their share -- or just made them from off the green, the way Love did three times. They have plenty of company, though, with Henrik Stenson and Mike Weir one back and Ernie Els and three others just two back. Nine other players are three shots back. -- Brian Wacker
LOVE IN WITH 66 (5:57 p.m.): Forget that Davis Love III took just 24 putts -- three times he holed out from off the green. The more impressive number was 1.5 putts per green in regulation. That's good for third-best in the field.
Love also drove it straight, though, and had some pretty solid iron play in what was his lowest round of the year since a 65 to open the year at the Sony Open in Hawaii. It also leaves him in a tie for the lead with J.B. Holmes as the first round winds down at Bay Hill. -- Brian Wacker
Below is a look at Love's scorecard from Thursday. Click here to replay his round with Shot Tracker.
TOUGH FINISH (5:18 p.m.): Bay Hill featured the second-most difficult finishing three holes (Nos 16-17-18) on TOUR in 2009. It trailed only Quail Hollow and was just ahead of Muirfield Village. That's changed a little bit this year -- the 16th is now a par-5 and is playing as the second-easiest on the course -- but not much. The last two holes currently rank fourth and sixth, respectively, with just 19 birdies between them (10 on No. 17 and nine on the 18th). In other words, expect a lot of drama late Sunday. -- Brian Wacker
AND BABY MAKES TWO (4:44 p.m.) Henrik Stenson now has two children -- and each was born in a different country.
Lisa, who is now 2 ½ years old, was born in Sweden, which is Stenson's home country and their summer residence. Karl, who will be three weeks old on Friday, was born in Orlando, where the family lives part-time.
"So I guess if we have a third one, it better be in Dubai then to really make sure we spread them out," said Stenson, referring to the family's primary residence in the Middle East.
As a result, there are plenty of passports to account for in the Stenson family. His wife, Emma, is American so the children hold dual citizenship. The two met while she was playing golf at South Carolina and he practiced there.
"I'm thinking (Karl) behaves, he gets the Swedish one when he's 18, otherwise he gets the American one," Stenson said, chuckling. "That a good plan, do you think?" -- Helen Ross
VILLEGAS STRUGGLES (4:45 p.m.): Camilo Villegas had one of the best starts to the season of anyone on the PGA TOUR with a third, tie for eighth, a win (at The Honda Classic) and a tie for 16th last week.
That won't continue this week. Not after an opening-round 77 that included a 40 on the back nine for Villegas. No bueno, as they'd say in Colombia. The biggest culprit? A whopping 32 putts, including two putts per green in regulation.
Villegas took a week off before the Transitions Championship and the rest was well-needed after a whirlwind few weeks that also included a trip to Colombia. Now it may be catching up to him, though. In all, Villegas hit just half his greens in regulation and he still missed five putts from inside 10 feet. That leaves him near the bottom of the leaderboard heading into the second round. -- Brian Wacker
MICKELSON UPDATE (4:22 p.m.): Another week, more missed fairways. That's been mostly the story of Phil Mickelson's season. And when it hasn't been missed fairways, it's been missed putts.
Mickelson has hit just four of 10 fairway and seven of 12 greens in regulation on his way to three birdies and a bogey. Mickelson has talked about "being close" all season, but he's also continued to put in a lot of extra work -- he spent a few hours with Butch Harmon on the range Thursday morning. -- Brian Wacker
NA MAKING A MOVE (4:11 p.m.): There hasn't been a ton of movement up the leaderboard in the afternoon wave, but Kevin Na is one player from that group threatening the lead.
Na, who has two top-10s this season, is one shot off the lead with five birdies and no bogeys through his first 13 holes. Na has been nearly perfect, too, in all aspects with eight of 10 fairways, 10 of 13 greens in regulation and just 1.5 putts per green in regulation. -- Brian Wacker
ALLENBY HOLES OUT, AGAIN (3:46 p.m.): Robert Allenby is becoming pretty good at holing out from the fairway. Two weeks ago, he aced the par-3 13th at TPC Blue Monster at Doral, where he went on to finish in a tie for 11th. A few minutes ago, he just holed out for eagle from the fairway on the par-4 10th here at Bay Hill. That moves Allenby to 2 under through his first 10 holes. -- Brian Wacker
MORE LOVE (3:36 p.m.): Maybe Davis Love III should go back to chipping in. Since getting his third chip-in on No. 5, he's missed three of four putts from inside 10 feet. Still, he remains among those in the afternoon wave having a good round. -- Brian Wacker
PLENTY OF LOVE (3:25 p.m.): Since finishing in a tie for fifth at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Davis Love III hasn't made a single cut (that's 0-for-4 for those of you keeping score at home).
Love shouldn't have that problem this week. He is 4 under through his first holes with four birdies, an eagle and two bogeys. Love has also taken just eight putts. That stat is a little misleading, though, because Love chipped in on three of his holes (Nos. 2, 4 and 5). He also one-putted the first and third holes. The last time Love won, by the way, was at the 2008 Children's Miracle Network Classic. -- Brian Wacker
THE HOLE STORY (3:13 p.m.): How much of a difference have some of the course changes made so far this year? Now that we're deep into the opening round, let's take a look, specifically at the 15th hole, where the tee box was moved across the street, preventing players from cutting the corner on the dogleg par-4.
Last year, No. 15 played as the eighth-most difficult hole on the course with a stroke average of 4.169. Today, it's playing as the hardest hole at Bay Hill with a stroke average of 4.393. Below is a look at the numbers from the hole last year. -- Brian Wacker
| Inside the numbers: No. 15 at Bay Hill (2009 stats) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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MASTERS CHANCES (2:53 p.m.): The top-50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking following the Arnold Palmer Invitational will earn Masters invites, as will PGA TOUR winners not previously eligible. Here are the players at Bay Hill ranked between No. 45-75 who are not otherwise qualified for the Masters:
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THIS AND THAT (2:46 p.m.): Dating to this event's 1979 inception, the first-round leader has held on for victory just seven times. Through the first 12 stroke-play events this year on the PGA TOUR, meanwhile, the first-round leader has gone on to win just twice. Ryan Palmer achieved the feat at the Sony Open in Hawaii and Dustin Johnson followed with his win at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. ...
After five birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine, Mike Weir posted a 5-under 67 to trail J.B. Holmes' early lead by a stroke. Weir is making his seventh start at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Following a tie for seventh at Bay Hill in 2000, Weir did not compete in the event again until 2005. His 5-under 67 marks the first time he has broken 70 since round one in 2006 (69), a span of 13 rounds. ... -- Doug Milne
BUSINESS AS USUAL (2:30 p.m.): Henrik Stenson doesn't know how Tiger Woods will be received in the locker room at Augusta National in two weeks. He only knows what it was like when he ran into the beleaguered world No. 1 at Isleworth about a week ago.
"I went to play a practice round ... and saw him at the practice range and talked to him a little bit," Stenson said. "So I can only say how I saw him, and same old sort of say hello and how's the game and so on.
"It's really hard for me to guess on how players are going to greet him when he comes back or whatever and how the crowds are going to receive him, as well." -- Helen Ross
INSIDE OUT (2:20 p.m.): J.B. Holmes has played in seven PGA TOUR events this year and hasn't missed a cut. In fact, he already has two top-three finishes in Los Angeles and Pebble Beach.
Much has been written about the work Holmes has done with Dave Stockton on his putting. But Thursday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Holmes' ball-striking was the key.
When he came to Bay Hill, Holmes ranked 189th in driving accuracy and 143rd in greens in regulation. In shooting a first-round 66, though, Holmes hit 10 of 14 fairways and all but one green.
He credits the improvement to a quick lesson he got from his swing coach Matt Killen before the final round of last week's Transitions Championship.
"I asked him to look at me real quick and I was just too far inside," Holmes said, moving his arms to demonstrate. "Changed that a little bit. ... I brought it back out a little bit." -- Helen Ross
STREELMAN OFF TO STRONG START (2:04 p.m.): Last year, Kevin Streelman finished third in Mexico and eventually went on to capture the $1 million Kodak Challenge (in addition to just over $1 million in earnings). The last two events, including this week, he's found himself in contention.
In Puerto Rico, Streelman shot a third-round 64 and eventually finished third after stumbling in the final round. Here at Bay Hill, Streelman is at it again, at 4 under and two off the lead as he finishes up his round on the 18th hole (also the Kodak Challenge hole for this week).
Speaking of the Kodak hole, he's one stroke off that lead, held by Matt Kuchar and four others. -- Brian Wacker
FROM THE INTERVIEW ROOM (1:40 p.m.): How bad was J.B. Holmes' putting in the past? "I was terrified before," he said after his 66 Thursday. "Now I feel like I can score when I get on the ground."
Holmes wasn't great with the putter in the first round at Bay HIll -- he took 31 putts -- but he did make his share of them, rolling in three putts from 25 feet or longer.
"I've just been hitting the ball so bad; I had to make a 30-footer to make a birdie," Holmes said. "This was the first -- really, one of the few rounds I actually hit the ball well all day with the driver and the irons."
That he did. But count Holmes among another of the Dave Stockton converts.
"I feel great with the putter in my hand," Holmes said. "I feel more confident. It feels easier. You know, I'm not as mechanical. I'm just going it more with my body and feel and touch, and it's just easier. " -- Brian Wacker
HOLMES IN WITH 66 (1:10 p.m.): The bad news: J.B. Holmes took 31 putts. The good news: He still made four birdies, one eagle and, most importantly, zero bogeys on his way to a flawless 66 in the opening round here at Bay Hill.
As for how you score that well when taking that many putts, the answer is easy: you miss one green in regulation all day. -- Brian Wacker
Below is a look at Holmes' scorecard from today. Click here to replay his round with Shot Tracker.
ELS MAKING IT LOOK EASY AGAIN (12:44 p.m.): Ernie Els, who won at Doral two weeks ago, is threatening again this week. He's 4 under and playing his final hole of the day, just one shot off the lead.
One of the biggest differences for Els this year -- aside from his reduced international travel and ramped-up practice -- has been his putting. That's held true so far this week with a good-but-not-great 25 putts through his first 17 holes (he did miss two putts from inside 10 feet).
That, plus his ability to get up-and-down, has led to Els making seven birdies and two bogeys. And another week in contention for the Big Easy. -- Brian Wacker
A NOT-SO-PERFECT 10 (12:25 p.m.): The last time Mike Keymont played in a PGA TOUR event was in 1989 at the Bank of Boston Classic -- until this week. Judging by his opening round, though, it will be a short week for Keymont. He's already 11 over through his first 10 holes, which includes a quintuple-bogey 10 on the par-5 sixth hole.
Keymont hit his first tee shot into the water on the 524-yard dogleg left hole, his next tee shot out of bounds and finally found the green in eight before two-putting from 10 feet.
Of course Keymont isn't the only one to have made a mess of the hole. John Daly famously made an 18 there in 1998 after pumping six balls into the water. -- Brian Wacker
STENSON'S STRONG START (12:05 p.m.): Henrik Stenson isn't going to set any course records here in the opening round at Bay Hill, but he might be in the lead by the time the day is done. The Swede is 5 under through his first 13 holes with six birdies and just one bogey. He's also missed just one fairway.
It's been a slow start to the season for the defending PLAYERS Championship champ, who was bounced in the first round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and tied for 37th at Doral.
In fairness, though, Stenson was sick during the Accenture Match Play Championship, and his wife soon gave birth to the couple's second child, Karl, the Friday before the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. Obviously Stenson is a little more rested coming into this week. -- Brian Wacker
BIRDIE BARRAGE (11:40 a.m.): Dustin Johnson, who hasn't finished in the top 30 since winning earlier this season at Pebble Beach, has put together a nice run with three straight birdies. The problem, though, is that he's also made three bogeys today in what's been a not surprisingly wild round for the long hitter.
Johnson has hit just four fairways and six of 12 greens in regulation so far, but has scrambled well enough to sit at 2 under at the moment, just two shots off the current pace being set by Henrik Stenson. -- Brian Wacker
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ONLY A NUMBER (11:25 a.m.) Michael Allen is one of those players who just seems to get better with age.
On his 51st birthday earlier this year, he shot a 65 in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open and ended up tying for fifth. The previous week, he'd finished third in the Champions Tour's season-opening event, the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.
The veteran pro is at it again this week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. He is 2 under through 13 holes, which leaves him one stroke off the lead. Allen, who has two runner-up finishes in 13 full seasons on the PGA TOUR, has three birdies and a bogey here in the first round.
Allen would dearly love to pick up that elusive first TOUR victory. He won the Senior PGA Championship in his Champions Tour debut. -- Helen Ross
ROUND 1 UNDER WAY (11:15 a.m.): The first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard is under way and there are two noticeable differences this year. First, the defending champion, Tiger Woods, isn't in the field. Second, Bay Hill is now a par-72, as opposed to a par 70, after undergoing a complete renovation.
How has the latter affected play so far? Right now, the scoring average is 72.398 and the par-4 15th hole, where the tee box was moved across Bay Hill Blvd., is playing as the second-hardest hole on the golf course.
As for the early leaders, five players are tied at 3 under. One of them is J.B. Holmes.
Holmes, one of the longest hitters on the PGA TOUR, is doing it with spectacular iron play, having hit 10 of 11 greens in regulation. -- Brian Wacker
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