THE TOUR Championship, Round 1

2009-09-24

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TEES MOVED UP (1:32 p.m.): For the first round, the tees have been moved up on a handful of par-4s at East Lake. The 10th, listed at 469 yards on the scorecard, is playing at 454 yards. And the 13th, listed at 476 yards, is playing at 440 yards.

The fifth, listed at 520 yards, actually is playing at 538 yards Thursday, with the pin tucked in the back left.

Incidentally, just two par-4 holes on the TOUR this year are listed longer than the fifth at East Lake. The third hole at TPC Four Seasons Resort (home to the HP Byron Nelson Championship) is 528 yards. The seventh hole at Bethpage Black, site of this year's U.S. Open, is 525 yards.

The only other par-4 as lengthy as East Lake's No. 5 is the opening hole at the Plantation Course at Kapalua (site of the Mercedes-Benz Championship), which also plays to 520 yards.—Mike McAllister

WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR PHIL TO WIN? (1:20 p.m.): After a bogey on the first hole, Phil Mickelson bounced back with a birdie at No. 2 to get back to even par. Presumably, he'll need to make a lot more birdies if he hopes to win the FedExCup.

Should Mickelson, who enters the week 14th in FedExCup points, go on to win here at East Lake, he would need the following to happen to claim his first FedExCup trophy: Tiger Woods must finish ninth or worse; Steve Stricker fifth or worse; Jim Furyk fourth or worse; Zach Johnson third or worse; Heath Slocum third or worse ( for more).

Mickelson has won here before, shooting a 66 in the final round in 2000 to beat Tiger Woods by two strokes. Last year, Mickelson tied for third at East Lake.—Brian Wacker

TIGER TIDBIT (12:59 p.m.): Tiger Woods leads the PGA TOUR this year in first-round scoring average (69.13) and his average in six previous starts at East Lake is just slightly higher (69.33).

The first time Woods played as a pro in East Lake, he opened with a 75 in 1998 and eventually finished 20th. But when he won THE TOUR Championship two years ago, he opened with a 6-under 64 that put him two shots off the pace set by Tim Clark. He followed with a second-round 63 that vaulted him to the lead and never looked back in winning by eight strokes.—Mike McAllister

Of the 30 players at East Lake this week, here are the five with the best first-round scoring averages this season:

BACK IN CINK (12:50 p.m.): Stewart Cink has been a member at East Lake for more than a decade. Oddly, though, he's never played particularly well when THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola has been held there.

The reigning British Open champ has never had a top-10 at East Lake, though he did tie for 11th in 2007. Birdies on the second and third holes Thursday, however, show Cink might be changing his luck.

The clubhouse at East Lake is a veritable museum of memorabilia associated with one of its founders, the legendary Bobby Jones. Cink, who was a three-time All-American at Georgia Tech where Jones had attended college years earlier, has allowed the Claret Jug to be put on display there, too.

"They were nice enough to offer me a membership about 13 years ago, and Bobby Jones was a member at East Lake and played his golf here, so the connection between me and Jones, East Lake, Georgia Tech, I think the trophy needs to stay here for a little while," Cink said. "This clubhouse is like a Bobby Jones/golf history museum. With the Claret Jug in there, the actual one, I think it's fitting."—Helen Ross

PLAYOFFS PAYOFFS (12:45 p.m.): Part of the allure of the Playoffs is the opportunity for players to make dramatic leaps up the FedExCup points rankings. Heath Slocum, the winner of The Barclays, is the prime example this year; when he won at Liberty National, he moved from 124th (next to last) to third.

Since the top 30 players in points are at East Lake this week, obviously the biggest possible leap for any player to make is 29 spots. Below is a list of the 15 most dramatic one-week leaps in this year's Playoffs.—Mike McAllister

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF CHAMPIONS (12:37 p.m.): Americans won the first 14 TOUR Championships, but that trend has changed since the turn of the century, starting with Canadian Mike Weir's 2001 victory.

Five of the last eight TOUR Championships have been won by International players—including Fiji's Vijay Singh (2002), South Africa's Retief Goosen (2004), Australia's Adam Scott (2006) and Colombian Camilo Villegas (2008). All but Weir won at East Lake, which has hosted six of the last eight TOUR Championships, including every one since 2004.

Of that group, only Weir and Goosen are competing this week in the finale of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. But those two will be reunited with Singh, Scott and Villegas at Harding Park in San Francisco when the five play for International Captain Greg Norman in The Presidents Cup.—Helen Ross

SENDEN'S CHANCES (12:28 p.m.): Early leader John Senden (1 under through four) got a little luck to get into the field for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, but he's going to need a real stunner to win the FedExCup.

Senden, who is ranked 30th in the standings, must win at East Lake and have top-ranked Tiger Woods finish 29th or 30th in addition to other chips falling into place ( for all the scenarios).

Certainly, Senden is capable of winning, but the real chore will be on Woods' end. Woods has never finished dead last in a PGA TOUR event. Outside of withdrawing, his closest scare since turning pro may have been at the 2003 TOUR Championship, where he finished 26th out of 31 players—but that came at Champions GC in Houston.—Nick Zaccardi

TWEET OF THE DAY (12:22 p.m.): "Yeah you hit folks sometimes. It's inevitable. Can be pretty unnerving if it's a bad injury. That's rare though."—Stewart Cink (@stewartcink) in response to a fan "tweet" about if Cink had ever hit someone and how did he feel about it.

Apparently it's not that rare—Cink's tee shot on the first hole here at East Lake today struck a spectator. That's what you call foreshadowing. Cink went on to par the hole then bounced back with a birdie on No. 2.—Brian Wacker

FIELD NOTES (12:15 p.m.): Here are some odds and ends about the 30 players in this week's TOUR Championship:

• Nearly half of the field (14 players) have won major championships. Combined, those 14 players have 35 majors, including all four from 2009.

• The 30 players have combined for 238 PGA TOUR titles.

• There are four past champions in the field: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Mike Weir and Retief Goosen. Of those four, Woods is the only player who has won this tournament twice (1999, 2007).

• There are six players in the field who have made it to THE TOUR Championship in all three seasons of the FedExCup: Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan.

• Ten players are making their TOUR Championship debuts this week: Jason Dufner, Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney, Marc Leishman, Brian Gay, Kevin Na, Y.E. Yang, Angel Cabrera, Steve Marino and John Senden.

• Leishman is the only rookie in the field, and the 17th rookie to play in THE TOUR Championship since its inception.—Mike McAllister

FLYING HIGH (12:02 p.m.): THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola kicked off in a celebration capped by a pair of F-5 supersonic flighter aircraft speeding through the sky over the first tee at East Lake Golf Club.

The ceremony was to celebrate "Where Tradition and Hope Come Together"—a slogan that ties the history of East Lake with the promise of the community. Dan Yates Jr., representing the tradition, and Tyler Lawrence, a member of The First Tee of East Lake, hit the ceremonial first tee shots.

A choir of youngsters from the Drew Charter School sang the National Anthem after the colors were presented by a color guard representing all branches of the military.—Helen Ross

SLOW START (11:55 a.m.): The first groups are on the golf course here at East Lake, where Jerry Kelly just recorded the first bogey of the day with a 5 on the par-4 first hole. Unlike Zach Johnson, who enters this week off eight straight rounds in the 60s, Kelly, who won in New Orleans in April, has had mixed results of late with just one round in the 60s at the BMW Championship two weeks ago outside Chicago.

This is just Kelly's fourth trip to the TOUR Championship, though he has a pretty solid record in the event with a third-place finish in 2004 and a fourth-place finish in 2002. In 2003, Kelly tied for 13th.—Brian Wacker

WEATHER FORECAST (11:45 a.m.): The skies are cloudy but there's no chance of precipitation until Thursday afternoon, when a few showers and thunderstorms may arrive—just as the final group of Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker should be making the turn.

Despite all the recent rain, however, players will not be playing lift, clean and place.

An increased chance of precipitation is expected in Friday's second round, but it's the third round on Saturday when the weather issues may most affect the tournament. A 60 percent chance of showers is forecast for Saturday, with showers in the morning, and thunderstorms likely in the afternoon.—Mike McAllister

A LOT ON THE LINE (11:30 a.m.): What would Jim Furyk, who enters THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola third in the FedExCup standings, do with $10 million?

"I wouldn't give you any; I know that," Furyk joked to a member of the media in his press conference yesterday.

On a more serious note, Furyk, who has made more than $42 million in his career, admitted that there's still plenty of pressure when you're talking about the amount of money that's at stake for winning the FedExCup.

"'Zinger, I guess, got it right. There's only two things he ever choked for, one was winning a golf tournament and the other one was money," Furyk said. "It's a big deal. It's a lot of money.

"I think the best players out here are driven by history, but you can't start something brand new and three years later expect it to have a rich tradition in history. The only other avenue you have to go is cash. It's piqued everyone else's interest outside this room. I know it's piqued all your interests. It's the first thing we talked about. And yeah, I think the players, it definitely catches your eye and definitely piques your interest."

Of course there's also the interesting fact that Furyk, who has nine top-10s this year but hasn't won since 2007, could win the FedExCup without actually winning a golf tournament.

"I'd be like Sylvester, I just swallowed a Tweety bird and that would put a big smile on my face," Furyk said.

Furyk, by the way, has never won THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola—twice he has been a runner-up and last year he tied for sixth.—Brian Wacker