First-Round Notes – Thursday, March 12, 2009
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2009 Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular (The 12th of 37 events in the PGA TOUR Regular Season) Rio Grande, Puerto Rico March 9 - 15, 2009 FedExCup Points: 250 Purse: $3,500,000 (winner: $630,000) Trump International Golf Club Par/Yards: 72/7,526 First-Round Notes – Thursday, March 12, 2009 Weather: Partly cloudy with isolated showers. Afternoon high in the low 80s. Winds NE 10-20 mph, gusting to 20-30 mph. Monday Qualifier Derek Lamely fired a six-under 66 to share the first round lead with Jason Day. Lamely is looking to become the first Monday Open Qualifier to win a TOUR event since Fred Wadsworth won the 1986 Southern Open. The first round leader/co-leader has gone on to win four of nine times on TOUR so far this season. Derek Lamely is playing in his fourth PGA TOUR event. His only made cut was at the 2008 PODS Championship where he finished 71st. Lamely finished T145th at the 2008 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. He has played in a pair of Nationwide Tour events, missing the cut at the 2008 Melwood Prince George's County Open and finishing T32 at the 2005 Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by Dynamic Industries. Derek Lamely made the cut in four of seven starts on the 2008 Tarheel Tour, with his best finish a runner- up effort at the Michelob Ultra Classic. He has played several other mini tours since turning pro and won the 2008 Waterloo (IA) Open, which is not affiliated with any tour. Lamely was also a member of the Montgomery High School (TX) state championship golf team, before playing at McNeese State where he graduated in 2003 with a degree in Business Management. Derek Lamely shot his first PGA TOUR round in the 60s in his ninth career round. Jason Day shot a six-under 66 to share the first round lead with Derek Lamely. Making the 39th start of his career, Day has held the first round lead one other time at the 2008 RBC Canadian Open. Day’s best career finish is sixth at the 2008 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Kevin Stadler shot a five-under 67 and is in a five-way tie for third place with Michael Bradley, Cliff Kresge, Bart Bryant, and Bryce Molder. Kevin Stadler finished T4 last year at the Puerto Rico Open. So far this season Stadler has a pair of top-20 finishes and a missed cut. Stadler’s best finish on TOUR was a T2 at the 2007 Reno-Tahoe Open. Michael Bradley fired a five-under 67 in the first round. Bradley’s last top-10 finish came at the 2000 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill, a span of 64 tournaments. Prior to 2000, Bradley had 18 top 10 finishes in seven seasons including wins at the 1996 Buick Challenge and the 1998 Doral-Ryder Open. Defending champion Greg Kraft shot a one-under 71 in the first round. Last year, Kraft opened with a 69 on the way to his first win in 16 years on TOUR. Ronnie Black, who started playing on the PGA TOUR in 1982, shot a three-under 69. Black finished T39 at last year’s Puerto Rico Open, marking his first made cut on TOUR since 2002. Black, who will turn 51 in May, earned TOUR wins at the 1983 Southern Open and the 1984 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic. Black has played nine events on the Champions Tour with his best finish a T7 at the 2008 Dick’s Sporting Goods Open Below are scoring averages through the first round. Front 9 Back 9 Cumulative Total Scoring Avg. 35.750 35.886 71.636 Below are key statistical rankings after the first round: Stat Player # Stat Rank Standing Putts per Round Derek Lamely 24 1 T1 (-6) Greens in Regulation Kevin Stadler 18/18 1 T3 (-5) Driving Distance Jonathan Byrd 318 avg. 1 T8 (-4) Puerto Rican amateur Rafael Campos, who is a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University, has already had a busy week in Puerto Rico. On Wednesday, Campos finished T4 at the Palmas del Mar Intercollegiate while leading the Rams to a six stroke victory over the University of Notre Dame. Campos shot a six-over 78 in the first round of the Puerto Rico Open. Argentinian Estanislao Goya shot a three-under 69 and is T14 after the first round. Goya won the 2008 Tour de las Americas Order of Merit. He won twice in 2008, at the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final on the European Tour’s Challenge Tour and the Center Open on the Tour de las Americas. Diego Vanegas of Colombia turned in a first-round two-under 70. Vanegas won the 2007 Colombian Open adding his name to a list of past champions that includes Arnold Palmer (1956), Camilo Villegas (2001) Chi Chi Rodriguez (1963) and Jerry Pate (1981). There are several Latin American players in the field this year. Below are first-round results for the 13 Latin American players: Puerto Rican Players Score Standing Miguel Suarez 74 (+2) T101 Max Alverio 76 (+4) T117 Wilfredo Morales 76 (+4) T117 Rafael Campos (Amateur-VCU) 78 (+6) T128 Other Latin American Players Score Standing Estanislao Goya (Argentina) 69 (-3) T14 Diego Vanegas (Colombia) 70 (-2) T32 Felipe Aguilar (Chile) 71 (-1) T52 Manuel Villegas (Colombia) 72 (E) T74 Alan Wagner (Argentina) 73 (+1) T87 Oscar Fraustro (Mexico) 73 (+1) T87 Carlos Franco (Paraguay) 76 (+4) T116 Esteban Toledo (Mexico) 76 (+4) T116 Antti Ahokas (Finland/Tour de las Americas) 78 (+6) T128 Jesper Parnevik (back) withdrew following the first round. .