The first round of the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open had about 118, 461spectators in attendance. The weather is slightly cold and rainy, but the event is moving along with great fun and success.
PARTIAL First-Round Leaderboard
| Position | Name | Score |
| 1 | Ryan Palmer | 64 (-7) |
| T2 | Keegan Bradley | 65 (-6) |
| T2 | Bubba Watson | 65 (-6) |
| T2 | Daniel Berger | -6 through 16 holes |
Ryan Palmer
A week removed from his T10 finish at last week’s Humana Challenge, Ryan Palmer kept the heat on with a round that included five birdies, one eagle and no bogeys.
In last week’s second round on the Nicklaus Private course at PGA West, Palmer recorded a career-low, 11-under 61, highlighted by a 9-under 27 on the back nine. The 27 matched the second-lowest 9-hole score in TOUR history. With it, Palmer became the fifth player in TOUR history to shoot 9-under par on nine holes and 10th player in TOUR history to shoot a 27 on nine holes.
At one point during last week’s 61, Palmer was 10-under across an eight-hole stretch, worthy of the best eagle-birdie streak in PGA TOUR history.
Palmer is making his fourth start of the 2014-15 PGA TOUR Season, with last week’s T10 in Palm Springs his best finish.
Palmer is making his ninth start at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he has amassed a pair of top-5 finishes: T2/2006 and 5th/2013.
Palmer enjoyed a strong 2013-14 PGA TOUR Season, highlighted by eight top-10 finishes. In his last two starts of the season, he finished T4 at the BMW Championship and seventh at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. As a result, he finished a career-best 14th in FedExCup points.
Palmer is in search of his fourth career PGA TOUR win this week, and first since the 2010 Sony Open in Hawaii.
In round one, Palmer hit 10 of 14 fairways (71.4 percent) and 15/18 greens (83.3 percent).
Should his lead hold, it would mark the ninth time he has held a lead/co-lead after 18 holes on the PGA TOUR. Most recently, he led after the first round of last year’s Deutsche Bank Championship, before settling for T16.
Bubba Watson
Headed into last year’s final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Bubba Watson clung to a two-stroke lead at 15-under 198. Bogeys on two of his last three holes Sunday resulted in an even-par 71 and share of second place with Graham DeLaet.
Watson opened this week at TPC Scottsdale with a 6-under 65, highlighted by five birdies and an eagle-three at the fifth hole.
Watson is making his ninth-consecutive start at this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he has finished inside the top 15 the last three years; T2/2014, 15th/2013 and T5/2012. His other top-15 finish at TPC Scottsdale was a T8 in his first start of 2007.
Watson is making his third start of the 2014-15 PGA TOUR Season this week. Late last year, he claimed his seventh PGA TOUR win in dramatic, playoff fashion at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. More recently, he finished 10th at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in the 34-man field.
Watson’s 65 in round one keeps his streak of sub-par scores this season to a perfect 9/9.
Keegan Bradley
Making his fourth consecutive start at the waste Management Phoenix Open, Keegan Bradley’s opening-round, 6-under 65 is two strokes shy of his best at TPC Scottsdale (R2/2013).
In round one, Bradley made seven birdies and just a lone bogey at the par-4 first hole.
Bradley is making his third start of the season this week, having previously finished T64 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and T48 at last week’s Humana Challenge.
Perhaps feeding off the Super Bowl vibe, a game being contested in nearby Glendale, Bradley is an admitted die-hard New England Patriots fan.
Bradley is in search of his fourth career PGA TOUR win and first since the 2012 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
Bradley hit just 7/14 fairways in regulation in round one, but hit 16 of 18 greens (88.9 percent).
Zach Johnson
Despite back-to-back bogeys at Nos. five and six, Zach Johnson managed seven birdies in round one, including his last of the day at No. 18.
Johnson is making his sixth start at the Waste Management Phoenix Open this week, and first since 2010. His best finish is a T12 in 2009.
With a scoring average of 70.80, his first-round scoring average had previously been the highest of the four rounds at TPC Scottsdale. His 68.25 average in the second round is his best through the five previous starts.
Johnson is making his fifth start of the season and is coming off a missed cut at last week’s Humana Challenge.
Johnson, an 11-time winner on the PGA TOUR, is in search of his first win since the 2014 Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Johnson hit 10/14 fairways in regulation in round one (71.4 percent) and 17/18 greens (94.7 percent). At the par-3 16th, he was wide right.
Robert Streb
In his first start at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Robert Streb opened with a 5-under 66 to extend his streak of sub-par scores to 10 (dating to the final round of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba).
On the strength of four top-10 finishes in seven starts this season, highlighted by a playoff victory at The McGladrey Classic, Streb comes into this week ranked second in the FedExCup standings. He trails Jimmy Walker by 143 points.
Phil Mickelson
Making his 26th start at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, three-time champion Phil Mickelson birdied his last two holes of the day, Nos. 8 and 9, to open with a 2-under 69. Additional birdies came at the par-5 third, par-4 17th and par-4 18th holes. Mickelson took a double-bogey seven at the par-5 15th after sending two shots into the water.
Through 25 previous starts in the event, Mickelson’s opening-round scoring average is 69.20.
Mickelson (1996, 2005, 2013) is hoping to become the first four-time winner of this event. Mark Calcavecchia, Gene Littler and Arnold Palmer also captured three tournament titles.
In his first start of the 2014-15 PGA TOUR Season, Mickelson finished T24 at last week’s Humana Challenge, following rounds of 71-66-68-68—273 (-15).
Tiger Woods
For the first time since 2001, and fourth time overall, 79-time PGA TOUR champion Tiger Woods is teeing it up at this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. He struggled in round one with a 2-over 73.
Woods struggled most off the tee, hitting just 5 of 14 fairways in regulation (35.7 percent).
On the 341-yard, par-4 17th, Woods hit a 340-yard tee shot hole high, within 20 feet. He settled for birdie.
Since the beginning of the 2013-14 PGA TOUR Season, 15 of Woods’ 22 competitive rounds now have been over-par scores. In that same span of time, he has posted a sub-par score in the first round just twice in eight starts.
Woods eagled the par-5 13th hole in round one to get back to 3-over. His last eagle on the PGA TOUR before this week was in round two of the 2013 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
Woods is in search of his first TOUR title since the 2013 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
Since 1997, his first full season on TOUR, Woods has won his first start of the season on seven occasions: 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013.
In his three previous starts at TPC Scottsdale, Woods finished T18 in 1997, third in 1999 and T5 in 2001.
Woods’ start this week marks his first official money start since missing the cut at the 2014 PGA Championship. Woods competed at the Hero World Challenge in December, finishing T17 in the 18-man field.
