Round 1 Notes – Northern Trust Open
(Partial) First-Round Notes – Thursday, February 14, 2008Morning temperatures were in the low 50s with light NE winds of 4-8mph. Under sunny skies, temperatures increased to about 60. Winds increased to 15-18mph.
In the morning wave, K.J. Choi’s opening round six-under-par 65 matched his year’s best opening round (six-under-par 64, Sony Open in Hawaii with relation to par). With six birdies and no bogeys, it was just his third bogey-free round of the year.
Bogey-Free Rounds in 2008 Finish
Sony Open in Hawaii, Round One 1
FBR Open, Round Four T20
Northern Trust Open, Round One ??
K.J. Choi has held the first-round lead four times prior to the 2008 Northern Trust Open, three of which he has parlayed into victory.
Event Result
2008 Sony Open in Hawaii 1
2007 AT&T National 1
2007 Mercedes-Benz Championship T8
2002 PODS Championship 1
The last first-round leader of the Northern Trust Open to go on and win was Billy Mayfair in 1998.
Kevin Na answered nine initial consecutive pars with three straight birdies en-route to his bogey-free five-under-par 66. It was his best opening round since shooting an eight-under-par 63 at the 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
Na remains in search of his first PGA TOUR victory in this, his 111th start since joining the PGA TOUR in 2004. His best finishes came with a pair of T2s, first at the 2005 FBR Open and then again two weeks later at the Chrysler Classic of Tucson.
If K.J. Choi or Kevin Na were to win, they would be only the second Asian-born player to win since the Northern Trust Open’s inception in 1926. Tze-Chung Chen won in a playoff in 1987 over Ben Crenshaw.
In the morning wave, only K.J. Choi, Kevin Na and Cody Freeman managed bogey-free rounds.
With relatively calm winds for the morning wave, the scoring average was 71.28. In the afternoon, however, winds dramatically increased, gusting to 25mph at 3:00pm.
Here is the timeline of the weather during Thursday’s first round:
Time Weather summary
7AM: Cloudy. Temp: 50F. Winds: ENE 5 mph
8AM: Cloudy. Temp: 52F Winds: N 7mph
9AM: Mostly cloudy. Temp: 55F. Winds: ENE 3-6 mph
10AM: Partly cloudy. Temp: 56F Winds: NE 4-8 mph
11AM: Mostly sunny. Temp: 57F Winds: NE 7-12 mph
Noon: Sunny. Temp: 58F Winds: NE 10-15 mph
1PM: Sunny Temp: 59F Winds: WSW 10-15 mph
2PM: Sunny Temp: 58F Winds: WSW 10-15 mph
3PM: Sunny Temp: 62F Winds: NE 10-15mph gusting to 25 mph
4PM: Partly cloudy. Temp: 57F Winds: NE 10-15 mph
David Berganio, Jr. withdrew before his round in the morning. Nick O’Hern and David Duval withdrew during their afternoon round, citing sickness and a neck injury, respectfully.
Round one was suspended due to darkness at 5:41pm PST. A total of 17 players will be in position at 7:30am to complete their round.
The last time play was suspended due to darkness was two weeks ago at the FBR Open in Scottsdale, AZ when the first three rounds were delayed due to frost.
This year represents the 82nd playing of the Northern Trust Open. Outside of the major championships, the tournament is the fourth oldest event on the PGA TOUR, following the BMW Championship (1899), Canadian Open (1904) and Valero Texas Open (1922). Riviera Country Club is hosting its 46th Northern Trust Open. The first, then called the Los Angeles Open, was held at Riviera in 1929 and won by MacDonald Smith, with a 1-over-par 285.
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