First-round notebook – Frys.com Open
* John Mallinger made five birdies on his front nine to set the pace for a seven-under-par 63 in round one of the Frys.com Open to share the first-round lead with Doug LaBelle II.* In his sophomore year on the PGA TOUR, John Mallinger is competing in his 28th event on TOUR this year, highlighted by two 3rd places finishes (AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and last week’s Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open). In addition, he has amassed top-10s at the Honda Classic (T7) and the Memorial Tournament (T10).
* In the less-than-two-years since joining the PGA TOUR, John Mallinger has collected five third place finishes.
* In its’ short history, the PGA TOUR Fall Series has proven beneficial to John Mallinger. His third place finish at the 2007 Turning Stone Resort Championship was followed a week later with a T15 at the Valero Texas Open. Heading into the PGA TOUR Fall Series, he was ranked 177th in the World Golf Rankings. After the Valero Texas Open two weeks later, he had jumped 40 spots to number 137.
* Statistically, John Mallinger was near-perfect off the tees and into the greens, having hit 12 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation. Coming into the week, Mallinger ranked 184th in greens in regulation, hitting just over 60% of the greens.
* Doug Labelle II made the most of getting a spot in the field as an alternate by posting a seven-under-par 63 in round-one to take a share of the Frys.com Lead with John Mallinger after birdies on three of his last four holes.
* Partially exempt in 2008 because of Doug Labelle II’s 138th place on the 2007 money list, the PGA TOUR sophomore’s lone top-10 finish came in his first event of the season, the Sony open in Hawaii, finishing T10.
* Doug Labelle’s 2008 season got off to a strong start. He rolled the dice by traveling all the way to Honolulu to Monday qualify for the Sony Open in Hawaii. Not only did he earn one of the four spots, but he made the most of the start by finishing T10. In his next event, the Buick Invitational, Labelle finished T20.
* The strength of Doug Labelle II’s round on Thursday was putting. After hitting 14 of 18 greens in regulation, he needed only 25 putts to post his seven-under-par 63.
* In the morning wave, Richard Johnson carded eight birdies and two bogeys en route to a six-under par 64 to take the clubhouse lead. His 64 was the lowest in the morning wave.
* Having finished 1st on the 2007 Nationwide Tour money list on the strength of two wins to earn exempt status as a rookie on the PGA TOUR in 2008, Thursday’s first round was the lowest of Richard Johnson’s TOUR career. His previous-best was a 5-under 65 in the final-round of the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.
* Prior to the Frys.com Open, Richard Johnson made 26 starts on the PGA TOUR, making just eight cuts. His best finish on TOUR in 2008 was a T27 at the Turning Stone Resort Championship in upstate New York three weeks ago.
* In just his second event back after recovering from wrist surgery, local favorite Arron Oberholser posted a bogey-free five-under-par 65 in round-one of the Frys.com Open.
* Playing in his 27th PGA TOUR event of the season, Chris Stroud posted a bogey-free five-under-par 65 in round-one. Stroud, whose best finish of the season came two weeks ago at the Valero Texas Open (T6), had previously made just nine cuts this season.
* Accuracy was the key ingredient to Chris Stroud’s clean card in round one. He hit 11 of 14 fairways, coupling that with 15 for 18 greens in regulation.
* Chris Stroud finished outside the top-125 last year (133rd), but thanks to a third-place showing at the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament, he retained full playing privileges for the ’08 season.
* Bill Haas birdied three of his first four holes en route to a four-under 66. Earlier this year, Haas claimed his first of two top-10s right here in the Scottsdale area at the FBR Open (T9). Last month at the Viking Classic, the first of seven events which comprise the PGA TOUR Fall Series, four rounds in the 60s gave Haas his best finish of the year in T4 honors.
* In 2007, there were 60 players under par following the first-round, while 68 players posted sub-par rounds in 2008’s first-round.
* In 2007, the first-round scoring average was 69.87, while in 2008, the average was 70.00
* Bogey-free rounds belonged to Kevin Streelman, Arron Oberholser, Chad Collins and Charlie Wi.
* Ted Purdy was disqualified following the first-round for a failing to sign his scorecard.
* Dean Wilson withdrew from the tournament following his round.
Return to Tournament Notebook archives