Six notable first-round Players Championship stats from Golf World contributing writer Brett Avery, who compiles the Rank and File statistical sections for the magazine's coverage of the major championships and other significant events.
1. Ian Poulter, whose seven-under-par 65 shared the lead with Martin Laird, ranked in the top 10 following an opening round for the first time in his last 24 PGA Tour starts. Poulter's last top-10 standing after opening-day play came off a five-under 66 at Cog Hill that put him solo third in the 2010 BMW Championship. That week Poulter followed with 72-69-75 and tied for 13th. If Poulter mirrors his recent form during today's second round at TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course, he will remain in contention in the Players Championship. The last four times Poulter stood in the top 10 after a tour event's first day, he managed to remain in the top 10 in the second round. That includes the 2010 Masters, where Poulter began 68-68 and went from a tie for seventh to the lead.
2. Adams, making his 75th career tour start, also enters the second round in rarified air. He has not ranked this high following 18 holes since he was leader in consecutive starts in 2010, at Colonial (wound up tied for 27th) and the Byron Nelson (second). Although Adams ranks 104th on tour this year in scoring average before the cut (71.27), he's logged a 70.14 average in second rounds. Adams, who made eight birdies in the first round, has broken par in the second round 11 of 14 tries this season. Only three players have made more starts on tour this year: J.J. Killeen (16), Matt Bettencourt (15) and Sung Kang (15). Adams missed the cut last year in his Players debut (72-76).
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Live Blog: Round 2 of the Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Welcome to another round of our live blog at the Masters. Our host right now is Craig Bestrom, who's sounding off on all-things Masters and answering ALL of your pressing questions. Don't be shy...jump into the convo.
Live Blog: Round 1 of the Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Welcome, Augusta junkies, to our first live blog at the Masters. Our hosts today will be Geoff Shackelford (from 3-4:30), John Huggan (from 4:30-5:30) and Matt Ginella (from 5:30-7). They'll be sounding off on all-things Masters and answering your pressing questions.
Masters Q&A: Round One Chat With Golf World's Ron Sirak
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Round One at the Masters is well underway. While many marquee players will be wrapping up at around 2 p.m. EDT (Tiger Woods, Luke Donald, Adam Scott), others will just be getting started (Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Bubba Watson). That's why Golf World's Ron Sirak will sit down and answer your questions at 2 o'clock. Go ahead, ask him anything you want.
Masters Q&A: Talking Equipment With Golf World's Mike Johnson
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Starting on Wednesday, we'll be hosting live Q&A sessions every day at 2 p.m. EDT with different writers. Today, Mike Johnson, Senior Equipment Editor for Golf World Magazine, will answer ALL of your equipment-related questions. What trends are popular this week? How do players tweak their sets for Augusta? Johnson knows the answers.
Tiger pulls himself into contention, then falls short
"75s are rarely interesting."Tiger Woods' downbeat verdict on the disappointing three over-par third round that had just dropped him from the halfway lead into a tie for eighth place and seemingly out of contention for the Australian Open title was nothing if not accurate. Which is more than can be said for his "moving day" play, of course. A card littered with five bogeys and uplifted by only two birdies will only rarely get the pulse rate going, especially when it adds up to as many as 12 shots higher than the low score of the day.
(RELATED: Tiger's Teases)
What a difference another day, a session on the range and practice green and, presumably, a good night's sleep can make. So it was that, less than 24 hours later, a nifty 67, five under par, proved to be far more eventful both for the 14-time major champion and the thousands of spectators expectantly thronging The Lakes course.
In the end, Woods' 277 total wasn't quite enough to seal what would have been his first victory since he claimed the Australian Masters crown at Kingston Heath in Melbourne back in November 2009. But this strong effort contained enough good things to indicate that, given more of his famous "reps," Woods will surely find his way back to something like his peerless pre-scandal form.
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New venue for the Nationwide Tour Championship
While it may no longer carry the name of "Nationwide," the year-end championship of the PGA Tour's minor league will be played next year at the TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, TX, in suburban Dallas. The formal announcement will come on Monday.
Jason Kokrak has the final-round lead at the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island Club. (Photo by Getty Images)
After a three-year run on the Ralston Creek course at the Daniel Island Club outside Charleston, SC, the event will move to avoid next year's PGA Championship to be played on the other side of the city of Charleston at Kiawah Island's Ocean Course. Though no agreement has been reached, both Daniel Island and the PGA Tour are interested in resuming the relationship in 2013.
--Jim Moriarty
Jason Kokrak has the final-round lead at the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island Club. (Photo by Getty Images)After a three-year run on the Ralston Creek course at the Daniel Island Club outside Charleston, SC, the event will move to avoid next year's PGA Championship to be played on the other side of the city of Charleston at Kiawah Island's Ocean Course. Though no agreement has been reached, both Daniel Island and the PGA Tour are interested in resuming the relationship in 2013.
--Jim Moriarty
Keegan Bradley is "very disappointed"
If the pre-pick of Tiger Woods by Fred Couples cost anybody a spot on the United States Presidents Cup team, it was Keegan Bradley, the rookie PGA champion and two-time winner.
Couples spent 30 minutes on the phone Tuesday with Bradley before announcing in a teleconference at 5 p.m. that his second pick was Bill Haas, winner of both the Tour Championship and FedExCup, and a three-time winner over the two-year cycle for earning points. After an opening round 64 at East Lake, Bradley finished five shots out of the Haas-Hunter Mahan playoff in a tie for 11th.
"Freddie was very nice on the phone and explained to me why he made the picks," Bradley said in a text message. "I totally understand Tiger and Bill are great players. And what Bill did at the Tour Championship was remarkable and he deserved the pick. That's not saying I'm not very disappointed. I hope to be on many more teams in the future."
The consolation for Bradley is that Couples made him first man off the bench in case Steve Stricker isn't able to play at Royal Melbourne in seven weeks because of a herniated disk and bone spur in his neck. Stricker, the highest ranked American at No. 4, took a cortisone shot but played with pain and stiffness during the Tour Championship and finished 15th in a 30-man field.
Stricker had a second MRI on Tuesday but his agent, Jon Heaton, told Golf World Wednesday morning, "There is nothing to report at this time."
(Photo by Michael Cohen/Getty Images)
--Tim Rosaforte
Couples spent 30 minutes on the phone Tuesday with Bradley before announcing in a teleconference at 5 p.m. that his second pick was Bill Haas, winner of both the Tour Championship and FedExCup, and a three-time winner over the two-year cycle for earning points. After an opening round 64 at East Lake, Bradley finished five shots out of the Haas-Hunter Mahan playoff in a tie for 11th."Freddie was very nice on the phone and explained to me why he made the picks," Bradley said in a text message. "I totally understand Tiger and Bill are great players. And what Bill did at the Tour Championship was remarkable and he deserved the pick. That's not saying I'm not very disappointed. I hope to be on many more teams in the future."
The consolation for Bradley is that Couples made him first man off the bench in case Steve Stricker isn't able to play at Royal Melbourne in seven weeks because of a herniated disk and bone spur in his neck. Stricker, the highest ranked American at No. 4, took a cortisone shot but played with pain and stiffness during the Tour Championship and finished 15th in a 30-man field.
Stricker had a second MRI on Tuesday but his agent, Jon Heaton, told Golf World Wednesday morning, "There is nothing to report at this time."
(Photo by Michael Cohen/Getty Images)
--Tim Rosaforte
Irene's aftermath: We want your photos
Irene hit North Carolina on Friday morning as a Category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 85 MPH. As it traveled up the East Coast, the storm undoubtedly damaged many golf courses. Have you taken a picture of your local golf course since Irene's departure? We'd like to see it.
Storm damage was apparent at Rye Golf Club in Rye, N.Y. Photo by Sam Weinman
Please either email your image (photos@golfdigest.com) or tweet it by replying to our Twitter handle, @GolfDigestMag.
--Ashley Mayo
Storm damage was apparent at Rye Golf Club in Rye, N.Y. Photo by Sam WeinmanPlease either email your image (photos@golfdigest.com) or tweet it by replying to our Twitter handle, @GolfDigestMag.
--Ashley Mayo
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