Par gets weather beating

Adam Candee

Friday, Oct. 8, 2004 | 9:51 a.m.

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A quick glance at the ducks gliding along the small lake next to the Golf House at TPC at Summerlin revealed what kind of day Thursday would be on the courses of the Michelin Championship at Las Vegas.

Not a single feather moved. The water did not ripple. Glistening sun prevented too long of a stare.

No wind and gorgeous temperature? The formula for scoring could not be more perfect and the pros took advantage during Thursday's opening round, with plenty of promise to remain the same through the weekend if the moderate gusts forecasted for Saturday and Sunday do not arrive in force.

Seven players went 8-under to set a tournament record, led by Danny Ellis and Jason Bohn, whose scores of 63 at TPC at the Canyons topped five rounds of 64 at TPC at Summerlin and Bear's Best. Just 14 players in the 144-man field failed to shoot even par or lower, leaving 41 players within three strokes of the lead as play began this morning in the scoring festival of the pro-am Michelin Championship.

Expect plenty of motion on the leaderboard during the weekend: None of Thursday's co-leaders has won a tournament this season after holding or sharing the first-round lead.

Co-leader Scott Verplank, a traditionally strong performer in Las Vegas, attempts not to wake himself from the dream setup that presents itself on open fairways, receptive greens and courses that do not favor the big hitters.

"You just try to stay in the vacuum," Verplank said. "You don't try to get out of the nice weather, the nice lies and good swings."

The courses did not discriminate in allowing low scores to the leaders. Verplank and Harrison Frazar opened at 64 at Summerlin, while Kent Jones, Steve Lowery and Billy Mayfair shot their 8-under rounds at Bear's Best.

"I felt like I played really well," Frazar said. "Nothing real outstanding or nothing real fantastic except for that eagle putt."

That's the amazing part of the early returns: Not many players feel that they truly scorched the course and the scores still looked as they did. Most sang that same tune in different keys Thursday, lamenting the handful of birdies they left on the course in addition to all the putts they made.

"I think you have to say, well, you'll still get a lot of opportunities and shrug it off," Jones said.

Jones, who occupies the tenuous position of No. 123 on the money list with a month left to earn his 2005 card, cautioned that a hot first round or two does not give anyone a share of the winner's purse just yet.

"It's nice. It's obviously better than not getting off to a good start," Jones said. "But 8-under itself doesn't really accomplish a whole lot."

History bears him out: In the 21 years of the event, just three first-round leaders have gone on to win. Defending champion Stuart Appleby, who opened with a 2-under 69 at Canyons, pulled it off last year. Fuzzy Zoeller (1983) and Bill Glasson (1997) also won after leading the opening day.

The top 70 players and ties will make the 54-hole cut after Saturday and the cut line could be remarkably low. Players rotate to the other two courses today and Saturday, and Sunday play is only at Summerlin. Tournament organizers hope Thursday's sparse crowds significantly fill in over the weekend, which could hold as exciting a finish as last year's playoff between Appleby and Scott McCarron as players trade shots on the leaderboard.

Eighteen players shot bogey-free opening rounds, while Mayfair and Tom Lehman hit all 18 greens in regulation. Verplank and Dean Wilson did not miss a fairway (14 of 14), which Verplank credited to the conditions.

"Any week out here where you get conditions like that, you shoot at flags," Verplank said. "The game's changed in a lot of ways and that's one of them. There's not a lot of backing off left."

On a day when players made 709 birdies to just 242 bogeys, there was no reason to back off.

"The wind gusted up to about 2 or 3 miles per hour," Verplank quipped of his lone bogey. "It threw me off."