Tag: Omni Tucson National

David Toms wins PGA Tour Champions Cologuard Classic, which will move to a new Tucson venue in 2024

David Toms led by four shots at one point en route to winning for the third time on the PGA Tour Champions.

TUCSON, Ariz. — David Toms posted a 6-under 30 on his front nine Saturday and led by two shots after 36 holes at the 2023 Cologuard Classic.

On Sunday, he led by four through 11 holes and was still up by two when he got to the par-4 18th, rated the most difficult hole on the PGA Tour Champions last season.

And for the third day in a row, the 18th proved trouble for Toms, who drove his tee shot into a lake down the right side of the fairway for the third time.

He said he didn’t see it go in Sunday and only discovered it was wet once he got up there, and that probably helped him avoid thinking about a bad shot for very long.

“It was more about ‘Let’s take our drop, let’s get our yardage,'” Toms said. “My caddie Scott [Gneiser] said ‘Hey man, we’re alright. Let’s hit a good shot here.'”

Toms only had five bogeys over the 72 holes and three of those came on the 18th. After a drop, his approach missed right but he got up-and-down for bogey and that was enough, as Toms closed with a 68 to finish at 15 under and beat Robert Karlsson by a shot. Toms (68-65-68) posted 19 birdies over three days and besides the first-place check, he also won a gold Conquistador helmet, which is the trophy for the tournament.

He sounded excited to be able to bring that home.

“It’s just kinda one of those things. I’ve always paid attention to it, saw the funny pictures of the guys putting it on their heads. I can tell you that my caddie’s got no chance to fit it on his head,” Toms quipped.

2023 Cologuard Classic
David Toms poses with the trophy after winning the 2023 Cologuard Classic at Omni Tucson National in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Gene Sauers had the best round Sunday with a 64 and tied Mark Hensby for third at 12 under. Doug Barron finished solo fifth at 11 under. Lee Janzen and Marco Dawson tied for sixth at 10 under.

Other notables this week:

  • Steve Stricker: Tied for eighth (70-66-71)
  • Brett Quigley: First-round leader bounced back from a second-round 73 with a closing 69
  • Miguel Angel Jimenez: Tournament’s defending champion shot 70-70-69 to finish 7 under.
  • Bernhard Langer: A Champions tour record 46th win will have to wait, as he shot 72-68-70 to tie for 19th
  • Jerry Kelly: tournament ambassador also tied for 19th.

New venue in 2024

The Cologuard Classic announced Sunday that the event will have a new home next season, as the Jack Nicklaus-designed La Paloma Country Club will be the host venue in 2024. The private club is about 10 miles northwest of this year’s locale, Tucson National, which hosted since 2015.

Cologuard had previously announced an extension of its title sponsorship of the event through 2027.

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David Toms cards nine birdies, takes two-shot lead at Cologuard Classic

“I thought it might be one of those days where I could go really low.”

David Toms shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to jump into the lead at the 2023 Cologuard Classic.

Toms opened with consecutive birdies and made the turn with a 6-under 30. He birdied Nos. 10, 14 and 17 but had bogeys on Nos. 16 to 18 to finish 36 holes at 11 under at Omni Tucson National in Tucson, Arizona.

“Front nine, obviously when you shoot 6-under par first nine, a lot of things  went well. I made a couple nice putts, but I hit a lot of nice shots, kept the ball in play, got pretty hot in the beginning actually,” Toms said. “I thought it might be one of those days where I could go really low.”

Toms last won at the 2021 Ascension Charity Classic in St. Louis in a playoff.

“Certainly you can’t ever really get ahead of yourself. Back when I used to win a fairly good amount on the [PGA] Tour, I just never really thought about winning too much, I went out there and played golf and it just kind of happened,” Toms said. “Tomorrow I’ll have to obviously play aggressive when you can because there’s a lot of guys out there, you saw a lot of good scores today. The weather’s going to be nice again, so it will be another day where I’ll have to be hot, but why not?”

Robert Karlsson is two shots back after his second-round 64. Steve Stricker is in solo third at 8 under after shooting a 66.

Chris DiMarco posted a 63, the round of the week so far, to get into a tie for fourth alongside Alex Cejka and Retief Goosen.

First-round leader Brett Quigley stumbled to a 73 on Saturday. He opened with a bogey, had birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 and then closed with back-to-back bogeys.

Bernhard Langer, tied with Hale Irwin for the most wins in Champions tour history with 45, is tied for 15th after rounds of 72 and 68. He will start the final round Sunday seven shots back.

Langer did celebrate a Champions tour milestone, playing in his 1,000th round Saturday.

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PGA Tour Champions Q school grad Brian Cooper a shot off lead at Cologuard Classic

Brian Cooper was 17 shots better Friday than his last outing on the PGA Tour Champions.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Padraig Harrington and Steven Alker made all the headlines the last time the PGA Tour Champions visited Arizona.

Harrington won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Phoenix Country Club, while Alker claimed his first season-long points title.

Fast forward the calendar three months and neither golfer is in the field this week at the Cologuard Classic. Champions tour stalwarts Steve Stricker (2-under 70), Miguel Angel Jimenez (2-under 70) and Bernhard Langer (even par 72) were well off the pace after 18 holes.

Add it all up and the door is cracked open for others to make a move, including 2022 Champions tour Q school grad Brian Cooper.

Cooper fired a 6-under 66 Friday in his seventh round on the tour this season and 34th round overall. It’s his lowest score to date. He was one of the five survivors of Q school last November and the 55-year-old came into Tucson with rounds of 78-83-77-77-84-83 in his first six outings in 2023.

Some of that he chalked up to his equipment, which he said he takes full responsibility for. He also suffered a pinched nerve in his neck two weeks ago.

So far this week, however, everything is firing on all cylinders.

“Living in Arizona, I mean, this week, playing well this week would really mean a lot,” he said. “I’m going to have family here, friends here. This week would really mean a lot.”

Playing the back nine first, he birdied Nos. 12 and 16 and then eagled the 17th. He had three more birdies on the front nine before closing with three straight pars.

“I think the way I hit it today, it’s kind of indicative of the way I’ve been hitting it and that’s what I expect out of myself. Whether it’s 66 or not, I expect to hit the ball good and give myself opportunities,” Cooper said. “In the first two weeks, honestly, I had zero opportunities. So this is what I expect of myself not only this week but the entire year.”

Cooper is a shot off the lead of Brett Quigley, who had the best round Friday with a 7-under 65, the day after the golf course was blanketed under a thick layer of snow.

“I loved it. I felt like I was a little kid yesterday,” he said. “I hadn’t seen snow in so long. It was a fun morning. The guys building the snowman out there on the driving range and driving in, seeing all that snow, it was like being a kid again.”

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Snow covers Tucson National in Arizona on Thursday, March 2, 2023, ahead of the 2023 Cologuard Classic. (Photo: Cologuard Classic)

Brett Quigley was 0-for-his-careeer on the PGA Tour (408 starts) but won his second-ever start on the Champions tour three years ago.

Among the four tied for second with Cooper is John Huston, whose lone Champions win came 12 years ago. He knows it’s too early to start thinking about the winner’s circle just yet.

“I’m too smart for that. I know it’s a long ways to go,” Huston said.

Kirk Triplett also shot a 66. Alex Cejka is solo fifth at 5 under. Tournament ambassador Jerry Kelly, Marco Dawson, Ken Duke, David Toms and Mike Weir are tied for sixth at 5 under after shooting 67s.

John Daly, in the field on a sponsor exemption, shot an 81 and is tied for last with Gary Hallberg.

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Miguel Angel Jiménez makes another ace, cruises to win in Arizona desert at Cologuard Classic

The Mechanic earned his 12th victory on the senior circuit in Tucson, Arizona.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Miguel Angel Jiménez survived a playoff to win the PGA Tour Champions season opener in Hawaii. His win Sunday in Tucson, Arizona, was a walk in the park by comparison.

Two aces in 50 holes will do that for a guy.

Leading by three shots in the final round, Jiménez hit a 6-iron from 188 yards on the 14th hole. Four bounces and a clanged flagstick later, Jiménez had himself a second hole-in-one this week and more importantly, a five-shot lead with four to go in the Cologuard Classic.

Jiménez finished his round par-par-par-par to shoot a final-round 65 and finish 18 under, four clear of the field. Bernhard Langer and Woody Austin finished tied for second at 14 under.

Cologuard Ambassador Jerry Kelly started the final round tied for second, two shots back of Jimenez. He closed with a 70 after opening 68-67 and finished solo fourth. Scott Parel was solo fifth at 10 under.

Jiménez’s ace Friday also came off the face of his 6-iron on the 196-yard 7th hole. Tim Petrovic had a pair of aces a year ago but Jiménez used his 1s to guide him to his 12th Champions victory. The aces were the 12th and 13th in competition for Jiménez, who had 10 on the DP World (formerly European) Tour.

Jiménez started birdie-eagle and was five under through eight holes before clipping a tree with his second shot on the 9th. After a third shot to about eight feet, Jiménez missed his par putt but still made the turn at 15 under, four clear of Langer and Jeff Sluman. The lead was down to three after Langer and Woody Austin each birdied the 12th but the Jiménez ace on No. 14 essentially sealed the win.

Jiménez pocketed $270,000 for the win. He has earned $668,795 so far this season. Loren Roberts in 2006 was the last golfer to win two of the first three Champions events to start a season.

Sluman, who co-lead after the first round and was tied for second after 36 holes, was seeking to break a stretch of 2,821 days since his last victory in 2014 when he teamed with Fred Funk to win Big Cedar Lodge Legends of Golf.

Langer came into the week off his win a week ago at the Chubb Classic, his 43rd win on the senior circuit. He finished xx and remains two victories from tying Hale Irwin’s Champions tour mark. Langer will get another chance to cut the gap to one next week at the Hoag Classic in Newport Beach, California.

Other notables in the field:

  • Jim Furyk, playing just 15 miles from his college home at the University of Arizona, 74-74-69 and finished T-25.
  • Omar Uresti, one of four golfers to get through the qualifier on Tuesday, went 73-70-71 and finished T-33.
  • John Daly, in the field on a sponsor exemption, posted scores of 78-71-73 to finish T-66.
  • David Duval, Champions tour rookie and winner of the Tucson Chrysler Classic on this same course on the PGA Tour in 1998, shot 77-77-73 to finish T-69.

Celebrity Challenge winners

Annika Sorenstam, who played at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and Larry Fitzgerald, the former Arizona Cardinals receiver, teamed up to win the Celebrity Challenge on Saturday.

Sorenstam, who has committed to the U.S. Women’s Open in June, was runnerup in the celebrity division at the LPGA’s season-opening Tournament of Champions in January. In the best-ball format in Tucson, Sorenstam made a birdie putt on 18 to get her and Fitzgerald to 4 under to defeat the team of country music star Jake Owen and former NFL running back Eric Dickerson by two.

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Watch: Sparks fly as Jerry Kelly hits driver off cart path to make birdie at Cologuard Classic

Perhaps the best shot of the opening day at Omni Tucson National came off the driver of Jerry Kelly. And not off the tee.

Heading into the second round of the Cologuard Classic, Jerry Kelly sits just a pair of strokes behind leaders Jeff Sluman and Miguel Angel Jimenez, with the latter making one of the best shots of the day when he aced No. 7 en route to a 66.

“The ball never left the flag,” Jimenez said after the round. “Piece of luck it was a hole-in-one there and I put myself 4 under par.”

But perhaps the best shot of the opening day at Omni Tucson National came off the driver of Jerry Kelly, who earlier in the week explained how important this tournament is to him.

Kelly pushed a drive to the right on the par-5 17th hole, which left him nudged on the cart path and with a dangerous shot underneath a group of trees. The 8-time winner on the PGA Tour Champions pulled a driver out of his bag and swung away, making “electric” contact — his shot sparking him to a birdie on the hole.

Others near the top of the leaderboard after the opening day included Tom Lehman, Woody Austin and Rod Pampling, all of whom carded a 67 on Friday.

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David Duval is back in Tucson where he once shot a 62 (with 2 hole-out eagles) and then blew a 7-shot lead before winning by 4

David Duval won one of his 13 PGA Tour titles in Tucson in 1998. Now he’s back with the senior tour.

The 1998 Tucson Chrysler Classic just about had it all.

Well, aside from Tiger Woods. The then-22-year-old waffled on a commitment to the tournament before ultimately deciding against it.

The desert stop—sandwiched in between the United Airlines Hawaiian Open and the Nissan Open (remember those?)—did have a field of Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo, John Daly, David Duval, Justin Leonard, David Toms, Tom Lehman and Andrew Magee. It also had some weather, a 62 and a blown seven-shot lead.

Duval was still about a year away from reaching World No. 1 but he arrived in Tucson having won three of his last eight starts. By that Sunday night, he was leaving town with another, giving him four wins in nine outings — the best in professional golf since Nick Price won four out of six PGA Tour events in 1994.

Along the way there was some bad weather. The back half of Friday’s second round was hit by a rainstorm but Duval was out early and posted a second-round 62 that featured two hole-outs from the fairway for eagle.

Duval is back in Tucson, Arizona, this week as a rookie on the PGA Tour Champions, with some recollections of that wild week 24 years ago. He will tee it up in the Cologuard Classic starting Friday on Omni Tucson National.

“I played in the morning on Friday and shot 62. Basically, as I putted out on 18, all hell broke loose with the weather, with wind and cold and the temperature dropped,” he recalled during a media session on Wednesday at the Omni Tucson National. “So I had a sizeable lead because of conditions.”

His 62 was aided by some serious flag-hunting.

“I remember thinking to myself in the ninth fairway, I hadn’t really paid close attention to it, I guess, but I was like, ‘Oh, man, I’m 6 under after eight holes. If make birdie here, I shoot 29. That’s always cool.’ I holed out a 5-iron for a 2, so I shot 28.”

Friday’s weather led to some late starts Saturday and the third round didn’t get done before darkness set in. On Sunday, by the time Duval completed 54 holes, he was sitting on a seven-shot lead. By the time he got to the 15th tee box, however, Justin Leonard had tracked him down and the two were tied with four to go.

Duval made a birdie on 16 after he chipped one in, and did so again on 18 after he drained a 30-footer. Leonard, meanwhile, bogeyed both holes, leading to a rollercoaster four-shot victory for Duval.

Tucson Chrysler Classic 1998
David Duval celebrates with a first-place check in the amount of $360,000 after winning the 1998 Tucson Chrysler Classic. (Photo: J.D. Cuban/PGA Tour)

There was no title defense for Duval. The PGA Tour returned to Tucson in 1999 but with the newly created World Match Play Championship, relegating the “regular” Tucson event to second-tier status. Duval later played in those events in 2005 and 2006, missing the cut both times.

What would it mean to win this weekend?

“That would be spectacular, especially having won here before. That would be a real dream come true,” he said.

Duval is committed to a mostly full playing schedule as a rookie on the senior circuit in 2022. That means he’s cutting back on his TV work.

“This year I’m not going to be doing any Live Froms this year,” he said, referring to the popular Golf Channel segments before and after golf tournaments. “I just can’t fit it into if I’m going to try to play a full schedule of whatever it may be, call it 22 weeks.

“I can’t add in six more weeks of leaving my family and my daughter, who lives at home—my son is at a boarding school—and be that selfish. I still have to be a husband and a father along with being a professional golfer.”

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Kevin Sutherland rallies to win Cologuard Classic on PGA Tour Champions

Kevin Sutherland tracked down Mike Weir and won the Cologuard Classic on PGA Tour Champions on Sunday in Tucson.

TUCSON, Ariz. — The last time Mike Weir and Kevin Sutherland each won, they did so in the state of Arizona.

Sutherland’s win was just three months ago at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix. Mike Weir, meanwhile, hasn’t won  since 2007. That’s a stretch of 13 years, four months and seven days since he won the Fry’s Electronics Open on the PGA Tour at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.

On Sunday, when Weir birdied the eighth hole at the Cologuard Classic, the second PGA Tour Champions event in 2021, he took a four-shot lead. It started to look like the drought would finally be over.

But on a chilly and windy day, Sutherland, who started the final round two shots back of the lead, made his move on the back nine at the Omni Tucson National Resort.

He birdied the 10th and 12th and then chipped in for birdie on the par-3 16th, the only birdie on that hole on Sunday. When Weir bogeyed the 16th, there was a tie for the lead with two to go.

On the par-5 17th, Sutherland made a short birdie putt to take a one-shot lead. Both striped their drives on the 18th hole and after Sutherland stuffed his approach to about 10 feet, he made a par putt to clinch the win at 15 under.

Weir bogeyed the last to finish 13 under.

Cologuard Classic
A backyard sign showing support for Phil Mickelson at the 2021 Cologuard Classic at the Omni Tucson National Resort in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

An eventful week

Phil Mickelson posted 14 birdies over the course of three days but had a double bogey in each of his first two rounds and a triple on the ninth hole on Sunday.

In both his first and second rounds, Mickelson also had an adventure on the 15h hole. Two days in a row, his ball nearly went into the lake and both days, he made amazing saves. Friday he hit off the mud to make birdie, Saturday he saved par after taking off his socks and shoes to stand in the lake to hit again from the mud.

When he got to the 15th tee on Sunday, he quickly charted a different path.

This time, he had caddie/brother Tim Mickelson pull a stake out of the ground to lower the rope, motioned a course volunteer out of the way, aimed right off the box and punched his tee shot through a small opening of trees up the 17th fairway.

Cologuard Classic
Phil Mickelson and caddie/brother Tim Mickelson look through an opening of trees on the 15th tee box to the 17th fairway, where Mickelson would play his tee shot on Sunday in the final round of the 2021 Cologuard Classic at the Omni Tucson National Resort. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)

After arriving at his ball in the fairway, he said “What’s up?” to the oncoming group of Billy Andrade, Jeff Sluman and Fred Funk.

“Then I only had about 215 to the hole and took a 4-wood over the trees,” Mickelson said. His ball landed between the 15th green’s front-facing bunkers. From there, he chipped on and two putted for par but expressed frustration about it.

“This is the stuff I’ve been doing. I hit a decent chip but I left it above the hole, missed the putt, make a 5. I hit three decent shots and I got a 5, and I gotta fix that somehow.”

It’s not an uncommon strategy at Tucson National. Woody Austin, for one, does it all the time, according to frequent spectators at the event.

Mickelson finished in a seven-way tie for 20th at 4 under, his bid for an unprecedented third win in his first three Champions tour starts falling short.

He wore a red shirt under his black pullover Sunday, part of the show of support across the golf world for Tiger Woods.

“So two things happened today. I wore red in honor of Tiger to let him know that the players support him and appreciate all that he’s done,” he said. “I had to buy a red shirt and of course every red shirt here (in Tucson) has a big A on it (for the University of Arizona, arch rival to Mickelson’s Arizona State). I’m not going to flash it (the A) but it’s under here (his black pullover). I hope he knows that we’re supporting him. Because that was a lot for me to do that.”

Other notables

Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker finished T-3 with Scott Parel. Jeff Maggert finished solo fifth. Tournament ambassador Jerry Kelly finished 9 under and tied for sixth with Tim Petrovic. Defending champion Bernhard Langer parred the 18th hole to shoot an even-par 73 and finish 6 under, tied for 14th. Local favorite Jim Furyk tied for 17th at 5 under.

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Mike Weir, winless since 2007, leads Cologuard Classic on PGA Tour Champions

Mike Weir hasn’t won a golf tournament since 2007 but he’s in position to snap a streak of more than 13 winless years on Sunday.

Mike Weir hasn’t won a golf tournament since 2007 but he’s in position to snap a streak of more than 13 winless years on Sunday.

After his second-round 67, Weir is atop the leaderboard at the Cologuard Classic, the second PGA Tour Champions event in 2021, at the Omni Tucson National Resort in Tucson, Arizona.

His last victory anywhere came at the short-lived Fry’s Electronics Open on the PGA Tour at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale. A win Sunday would be his first in 233 starts—194 PGA Tour, 19 Korn Ferry Tour, 11 PGA Tour Champions, nine European Tour—worldwide.

This week in Tucson, Weir is 4 under on the front nine and 10 under on the back and has posted rounds of 66 and 67. He is at 13 under and will take a two-shot lead over Kevin Sutherland into Sunday’s final round.

“I can’t recall a time where I’ve hit so many shots close to the hole,” Weir said. “I’ve hit really a lot of shots that have been almost tap-in to just outside of tap-in. I don’t know, probably six, seven, eight shots. So my wedges have been very good, even mid iron game’s been very good, so that’s really been good. And I’m driving it good.”

Sutherland, who won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix in November, eagled the 17th to get to 11 under.

Scott Parel is in third at 10 under, three shots back. Scott Verplank bogeyed the last and is 9 under, four back. Jeff Maggert, who started the day in 28th, posted the low round of the day with a 7-under 66. He had eight birdies in his round and is tied for fifth at 8 under with David Toms and Tim Petrovic, who made a hole-in-one for the second day in a row. On Friday he aced the 16th, on Saturday, the 14th.

“I called my wife yesterday and I said, ‘You see my card?’ And she goes, ‘Yeah, you made an eagle.’ I said, ‘Yeah, that’s part of it, but it was on a par 3.’ She goes, ‘Oh, my God, hole-in-one,'” said Petrovic. “I think they got this one (on Saturday) on video, though, so my dad will probably, he’s probably still laying on the floor in his living room right now, watching that one go in.”

Phil Mickelson had a double-bogey on the par-5 second hole but he responded with birdies on Nos. 3, 4 and 6. On 15, he had another memorable mud ball save from the edge of a lake and walked off the course with a 1-under 72.

“I thought I might have made another birdie from the mud. I couldn’t hit that wedge shot any better,” he said.

He is nine shots off the lead and will have some work to do on Sunday as he chases a first-ever third straight win in his first three starts on the Champions circuit.

Cologuard Classic Jim Furyk
A sign showing support for Arizona Wildcat alum Jim Furyk is seen at the Cologuard Classic at the Omni Tucson National Resort in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Defending champion Bernhard Langer is six under and is T-11, seven shots back as he chases his 42nd victory on the Champions tour, which he joined in 2007. He has at least one win in 14 years on the circuit. Local favorite Jim Furyk shot a second-round 69 and is T-15, eight shots off the lead.

Others of note: Steve Stricker (T-8), Fred Couples (T-11), Cologuard ambassador Jerry Kelly (T-11), Ernie Els (T-15), John Smoltz (T-51). John Daly withdrew after 12 holes.

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Phil Mickelson takes off socks and shoes, hits from the mud at Cologuard Classic

For the second day in a row, Phil Mickelson stepped in a lake to make a great save at the PGA Tour Champions Cologuard Classic.

For the second day in a row, Phil Mickelson stepped in a lake to make a great save.

On Friday, Lefty sank his shoes in the mud on the fringes of a lake on the par-5 15th hole at the Omni Tucson National Resort to get out of trouble. Two shots later and he was in for a birdie and later said “it kind of calmed me down for the last few holes” during his first round of the PGA Tour Champions Cologuard Classic.

On Saturday, he nearly found the water again on the 15th hole, with his ball, again, just staying short of going all the way in. Only this time, he decided to took off his shoes and socks before stepping in the lake.

With his ball just inches from submerging in the water, Mickelson took a wack at the ball and managed not to cover himself in mud.

From there, with his socks and shoes back on, he put it on the green with his third, and although he missed he putt, he did make par on the hole, providing golf fans with another memorable shot.

He shot a second-round 72 and found himself eight shots off the lead, his bid for an historic three-wins-in-three-starts on the Champions tour in jeopardy.

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Phil Mickelson birdies from the mud; Mike Weir fires 66 to lead PGA Tour Champions Cologuard Classic

Mike Weir, whose last win came 14 years ago in Arizona, leads after the first round in Tucson.

Phil Mickelson made all the pre-tournament headlines and had one of the highlights of the day on Friday, but it’s another lefty, Mike Weir, who stole the show in the opening round of the PGA Tour Champions Cologuard Classic.

Playing in the last group to tee off on No. 1, Weir fired a bogey-free 66 to take a one-shot lead over Scott Verplank at the Omni Tucson National Resort in Tucson, Arizona.

It’s Weir’s lowest opening-round in 12 starts on the Champions circuit, giving him his first first-round lead on the tour. His previous best Champions Tour finish was second—to Mickelson—in the Dominion Energy Charity Classic last August.

“Now you have to keep the pedal down, you have to keep playing well,” he said. “But this is a quirky golf course, you have to play smart. There’s certain holes here. … it gets your attention.”

Weir’s last victory anywhere came in Arizona at the 2007 Fry’s Electronics Open at Grayhawk in Scottsdale.

Verplank opened with a 67 after he holed out from a bunker on the ninth hole, his last. Paul Goydos, Jeff Sluman and Kevin Sutherland all shot 68s and sit two back of the lead.

Mickelson shot a 3-under 70 on the par-73 track. He had three birdies on each nine but bogeyed the 11th and doubled the 13th. On the par-5 15th, after his ball just about went into a lake, Mickelson submerged his shoes in the mud to hit his second shot. He went on to make birdie.

“On 15 I laid up with a 5-iron to stay short of the water. I wanted to try to be in the right rough because it shortens the second shot by 30 yards,” he said. “It’s 237 to the water, into the wind, hit 5-iron and went in the water. I couldn’t believe it. It was a little upsetting to say the least. … it was in the mud, I could hit it. So I got in there with a 9-iron and was able to lay up, and hit another 9-iron close and make birdie, which was crazy. It kind of calmed me down for the last few holes.”

Defending champion Bernhard Langer is T-14 after shooting a 71. Former Arizona Wildcat and local favorite Jim Furyk is T-28 after posting a 1-under 72.

Other scores of note: Steve Stricker (-4), Fred Couples (-2), Ernie Els (E), John Daly (+4) and John Smoltz (+4).

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