First-round notebook – BMW Championship
* Steve Marino and Rory Sabbatini posted matching 5-under 66s on Thursday to share the opening-round lead of the BMW Championship, the third event in the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup. Bo Van Pelt and Marc Leishman are one behind.* Marino has now held at least a share of the 18-hole lead three times in his career, including twice in the 2009 PGA Tour Playoffs. At the 2008 AT&T National, he carded a 5-under 65 to hold the outright first-round lead en route to a T24 effort. At this year’s season-opening Playoff event, he opened with a 6-under 65 to share the lead with Paul Goydos and Sergio Garcia en route to a T15 finish.
* This marks the eighth time in Sabbatini’s Tour career that he has held at least a share of the 18-hole lead, most recently in 2007 at The Barclays (finished 3rd). He has yet to carry the 18-hole lead on to victory.
* The first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win just eight of 38 stroke-play events on the PGA Tour this season, most recently Steve Stricker at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Incidentally, dating to 1970, the first-round leader/co-leader at the BMW Championship has also won eight (out of 39) times, including Camilo Villegas in 2008.
* Sabbatini is making his seventh start at the BMW Championship, with four made cuts and two top-10 finishes (2001-T5, 2007-T10). Marino is playing for the second time, finishing T22 in 2008.
* Players currently ranked 15th or higher in the FedExCup standings are assured of finishing among the top 30 and reaching THE Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola in two weeks.
* Steve Stricker, winner of last week’s Deutsche Bank Championship and the current leader in the FedExCup standings, opened with a 1-over 72. The PGA Tour Playoffs have been kind to Stricker. He is tied with Camilo Villegas with a Tour-best six top-10 finishes in 10 previous Playoff events. He also leads all players with 28 rounds in the 60s in Playoff events.
* Stricker, the winner of the 1996 BMW Championship and a product of the University of Illinois, is seeking his 11th top-10 finish of the season. He trails only Tiger Woods, who leads the Tour with 12 such finishes. Stricker has three wins on the year (Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, John Deere Classic, Deutsche Bank Championship), also second to Woods (5).
* Tiger Woods, winner of the inaugural 2007 FedExCup and the 2007 BMW Championship, posted a 3-under 68 in his return to Cog Hill G&CC after missing the 2008 FedExCup competition. Woods is a four-time winner of the BMW Championship (1997, 1999, 2003, 2007) and has eight top-10s in 10 career BMW Championship starts as a professional.
* Defending BMW Championship winner Camilo Villegas recorded a 3-under 68. The last back-to-back winner of the Tournament was Nick Price in 1993-94.
* Padraig Harrington is seeking his fifth consecutive top-10 finish. The Irishman has finished T2 (Bridgestone Invitational), T10 (PGA Championship), T2 (The Barclays) and T4 (Deutsche Bank Championship) in his last four starts, moving from No. 142 to No. 7 in the FedExCup standings in the process. He opened with a 3-under 68 on Thursday.
* Of the eight players who played their way into the top 70 at last week’s Deutsche Bank Championship, rookie Marc Leishman got off to the best start on Thursday with a 4-under 67. The entire list includes: Marc Leishman (67), Bubba Watson (69), Bryce Molder (70), Sergio Garcia (71), Jason Bohn (71), Jeff Overton (72), Woody Austin (76) and Stephen Ames (76).
* The only rookies to make the BMW Championship field were Webb Simpson (70) and Marc Leishman (67). Their FedExCup rankings are Nos. 51 and 67, respectively, and both need a good performance at Cog Hill to advance to Atlanta.
* Jim Furyk (70), Sergio Garcia (71) and Steve Stricker (72) have now played in all 41 rounds of the PGA Tour Playoffs, dating to the competition’s inaugural start in 2007.
* Eight players have now started in all 11 career Tour Playoff events. The list includes Robert Allenby, Stewart Cink, Tim Clark, Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia, Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker and Camilo Villegas.
* BMW Championship past winners and their scores: Robert Allenby (75), Stephen Ames (76), Jim Furyk (70), Jerry Kelly (76), Steve Stricker (72), Scott Verplank (70), Camilo Villegas (68) and Tiger Woods (68).
* Twenty-five of the 27 different winners on the PGA Tour this year are competing at this week’s BMW Championship. The only players who aren’t in attendance are Henrik Stenson (non-member) and Michael Bradley (did not qualify).
* Brandt Snedeker (2-under 69) has now played 13 out of the last 14 weeks on the PGA Tour, dating to the St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx in mid-June. The only week he didn’t play was the week of the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational. During that stretch he has posted a runner-up finish (John Deere Classic) and three other T5 finishes (AT&T National, RBC Canadian Open, Wyndham Championship). He is currently No. 42 in the FedExCup standings.
* Did you know? First held in 1899, the BMW Championship is the oldest Tournament on the PGA Tour and second oldest nationally to the U.S. Open. Past winners include the all-time greats Nicklaus, Woods, Palmer, Nelson, Sarazen, Armour, Snead, Hogan and Hagen.
* PGA Tour great Arnold Palmer celebrated his 80th birthday on Thursday. In honor of Palmer, players and caddies wore signature Bay Hill pins to commemorate the occasion. Palmer won the BMW Championship in 1961 and 1963 – two of his 62 PGA Tour victories.
* Twenty-eight of the 69 players in the field recorded under-par rounds on Thursday.
* Marc Leishman (67) and Padraig Harrington (68) managed the only bogey-free rounds on Thursday.
* All four par-3s were moved up for the first round for a total of 116 yards:
Scorecard Actual R1 Average
No. 2 228 199 3.058
No. 6 244 225 3.101
No. 12 221 182 2.986
No. 14 218 189 3.101
* Scoring Averages at the newly-renovated (by Rees Jones) par-71 Cog Hill Golf & Country Club, which played at 7,400 yards on Thursday:
Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
Thursday 35.739 35.710 71.449 ---
* The par-4 fifth hole played the toughest on Thursday, with a 4.275 average. The par-5 15th hole was the easiest at 4.507.
* Bob Estes withdrew following the first round with a hip injury.
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