2012 the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance - Notes & Stats

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2012 the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance

(The 24^th of 37 events in the PGA TOUR Regular Season)

 

Dublin, OH May 28 – June 3, 2012 FedExCup Points: 500

Muirfield Village Golf Club Par/Yardage: 36-36—72/7,352 Purse: $6,200,000 ($1,116,000)

 

First-Round Notes – Thursday, May 31, 2012

 

Weather: Mostly sunny and pleasant with highs in the mid to upper 70s. High of 76. Winds NE 8-12 mph.

 

Scott Stallings carded a 6-under 66 in the opening round of the Memorial Tournament to lead Spencer Levin and Erik Compton by one stroke.

 

First-Round Leaderboard

Scott Stallings 66 )-6)

Spencer Levin 67 (-5)

Erik Compton 67 (-5)

Seven players tied 69 (-3)

 

Scott Stallings

In his second-career appearance at the Memorial Tournament, Scott Stallings’ 66 in the first round is his lowest on TOUR in 2012 and lowest on TOUR since a 66 in the first round of the 2011 Children’s Miracle Network Classic. The 66 is Stallings’ first round in the 60s on TOUR since an opening 67 at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.

 

Stallings carded rounds of 68-76-68-71 at the Memorial Tournament in 2011 and finished T20

 

Stallings missed more than a month earlier this season from the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am to the Transitions Championship recovering from a rib injury. In 14 starts in 2012 Stallings has made just three cuts with his best result a T22 at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

 

The Memorial Tournament marks just the second time Stallings has held a share of the first-round lead/co-lead on the PGA TOUR. He previously shared the first-round lead/co-lead at the 2011 Children’s Miracle Network Classic and went on to finish T28. En route to his first PGA TOUR victory at the 2011 Greenbrier Classic, Stallings was T42 after the first round.

 

Stallings round of 66 was highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 No. 7 when he holed a bunker shot from the right greenside bunker. He also made birdie on No. 18, one of just six on the finishing hole that played as the hardest a Muirfield Village Golf Club in the first round, hitting his approach shot from 147 yards to just 2 feet, 5 inches.

 

Spencer Levin

Prior to his 67 today, Spencer Levin’s lowest score in eight rounds at the Memorial Tournament was a pair of 68s in the first and second round in 2010. He finished T33 in 2010 and missed the cut last year in his only previous appearances at the event.

 

Levin opened the season breaking 70 in the first round in his first five starts (Sony Open in Hawaii – AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am). Today’s 67 marks his first sub-70 opening Round since a 69 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and just his second sub-par opening round (71 – Valero Texas Open).

 

Entering the Memorial Tournament, Levin has made 12-of-16 cuts on TOUR in 2012 with his best result a solo 3^rd at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Levin carried a six-shot lead into the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, bust struggled to a closing 75 and finished two strokes behind Kyle Stanley. He finished T9 the following week at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for his other top 10 in 2012.

 

Levin’s career-best finish in 115 PGA TOUR starts came at the 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic when he finished runner-up to Johnson Wagner in a playoff.

 

Levin made a total of 152’ 11’’ in the first round and leads the field in Strokes Gained – Putting 5.031.

 

Erik Compton

In his fourth start at the Memorial Tournament, Erik Compton’s 67 in the first round is his first sub-70 score in 11 trips around Muirfield Village Golf Club. His previous low round was 72 on three occasions, most recently the third round in 2010. Compton has failed to make the 36-hole cut in each of his three previous appearances (2002, 2009, 2010).

 

Compton’s 67 equals his low round on the PGA TOUR in 2012, previously accomplished on three occasions in the first round of the Humana Challenge, the first round of The Honda Classic and the second round of the Shell Houston Open. His career-low round on TOUR is 63 in the first round of the 2010 Greenbrier Classic.

 

A two-time heart transplant recipient, Compton is a rookie on the PGA TOUR in 2012 after finishing No. 13 on the 2011 Nationwide Tour. He has made nine-of-14 cuts on the season with his best result a T26 at The Honda Classic. He won the Mexico Open last June for his first victory on the Nationwide Tour.

 

Compton finished the first round of a PGA TOUR event in better position than T2 just once at The Greenbrier Classic in 2010 when he was tied for the first-round lead.

 

Tiger Woods

A four-time winner of the Memorial Tournament (1999, 2000, 2001 and 2009), Tiger Woods carded a 70 in the first round and is T11. Of the players in the field this year for the Memorial Tournament, Tiger Woods has the lowest career scoring average among players with a minimum of 10 rounds at Muirfield Village at 69.42 (47 rounds, not including 70 in R1-2012). In 48 career rounds at Muirfield Village Golf Club, Woods has carded a sub-par score 35 times, including nine-of-13 in the opening round.

 

After his opening round 70, Woods is T11, four shots off the lead. Here is a look at where he stood after the first round the four years he went on to victory at Muirfield Golf Club.

 

Year R1 Score R1 Position Strokes back of lead

1999 68 T5 3

2000 71 T8 5

2001 68 T5 2

2009 69 T9 5

 

The only blemish on Woods’ scorecard was a double bogey on No. 18, his ninth hole of the opening round, which played as the most difficult hole at Muirfield Village Golf Club in the first round.

 

Rory McIlroy

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy recorded a quadruple-bogey 7 on the par-13 No. 12 Thursday, his third hole of the day. McIlroy battled back from the rough start to finish with a 71 (T20) thanks to an eagle at the par-5 No. 5. Prior to McIlroy, a total of six players had posted a quadruple bogey and an eagle in the same round at the Memorial Tournament since 1983, most recently Brad Faxon in the second round in 2010 (Eagle – No. 5, Quad – No.18). McIlroy is only the third player at the Memorial Tournament since 1983 to post a quadruple bogey or worse and go on to shoot even par or better.

 

Hal Sutton – 1991–R4 – 70

Mike Brisky – 1998 – R1 – 72

 

Prior to Thursday’s first round, McIlroy had never recorded a score higher than triple bogey on the PGA TOUR. He previously recorded triple bogeys on par-3s on three occasions at the THE PLAYERS in 2009 (No. 17 – R1), The Honda Classic in 2009 (No. 17 – R1), The Honda Classic in 2010 (No. 15 – R3) and the PGA Championship in 2011 at Atlanta Athletic Club (No. 17 – R2).

 

In order to pass Luke Donald and move back to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, McIlroy will need to win the Memorial Tournament and Donald finish outside the top 13.

 

Additional Player Notes

Blake Adams (69 – T4) has now posted sub-70 opening-round scores in each of his last four starts. Here is a look at his opening round scores in his previous three starts and where he went on to finish.

 

Tournament R1 Score R1 Pos. Finish

THE PLAYERS Championship 66 3^rd T12

HP Byron Nelson Championship 66 T4 T56

Crowne Plaza Invit. at Colonial 69 T20 T47

The Memorial Tournament 69 T4 TBD

 

Australian Aaron Baddeley is in search of his first top 10 at the Memorial Tournament in his eighth start. His best result came in 2004 when he finished T11 and he added a T12 last year. Baddeley’s 69 (T4) in the first round in 2012 is his 12^th sub-70 score in his last 16 rounds at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

 

Reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year and World No. 1 Luke Donald opened with a 71 in the first round and is T20.

 

Fred Couples, who earlier this week was named Captain of the 2013 United States Presidents Cup team to be held at Muirfield Village Golf Club, opened with a 74 in the first round. Couples, competing this week on a Sponsor’s Exemption, won the Memorial Tournament in 1998.

 

In just his second appearance at the Memorial Tournament, Argentina’s Andres Romero carded a 69 in the first round and is T4. In 2010 Romero finished T23 after rounds of 67-75-70-72. Since capturing his lone PGA TOUR victory at the 2008 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Romero has made 89 starts on the PGA TOUR and collected 10 top 10s.

 

Phil Mickelson’s 79 in the opening round is his highest on the PGA TOUR since he carded a 79 in the first round of the 2008 British Open Championship. Mickelson withdrew after the round citing fatigue in his post-round interview. Under PGA TOUR regulations, players can withdraw in between rounds to a TOUR official without citing a reason.

 

In his sophomore season on the PGA TOUR, Daniel Summerhays carded a 69 in the first round and is T4. Summerhays qualified for a spot in the 2007 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational held at Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course when he earned first-team All-American honors at BYU. He made good on the invitation by winning the event by two strokes over Chris Nallen and Chad Collins, at the time becoming the first amateur to win a Nationwide Tour title. He couldn’t accept the $126,000 first prize but did earn a full exemption for the remainder of the season and all of 2008. Three days later, he made the decision to forego his senior season at BYU and turned professional. Summerhays earned his PGA TOUR card for 2011 after finishing No. 5 on the Nationwide Tour Money List. He retained his card for 2012 with a T18 at the PGA TOUR Qualifying School.

 

Rodney Pampling, the last player in the field Tuesday afternoon when Graham DeLaet withdrew, opened with a 72 and is T35.

 

Miscellaneous Stats

The first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to victory just twice in the first 22 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR in 2012. George McNeill captured the Puerto Rico Open in March and Zach Johnson won last week’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

 

In the 36-year history of the Memorial Tournament, the first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to victory just twice (Justin Rose – 2010 and Ernie Els – 2004).

 

Other than Roger Maltbie in the inaugural edition of the Memorial Tournament in 1976, no player has won the event in their first start.

 

Only four players have made the Memorial Tournament their maiden PGA TOUR victory: Keith Fergus (1981), Kenny Perry (1991), Tom Lehman (1994) and Justin Rose (2010).

 

There have been seven (8 wins) international winners of the Memorial tournament since 1976, representing six different countries.

 

The early scoring average in Thursday’s first round was 73.70 and the late scoring average was 72.85

 

A total of nine past champions of the Memorial Tournament are in the field this week including defending champion Steve Stricker (73-T55). Other past champions include: Justin Rose (73 – T55), Tiger Woods (70 – T11), K.J. Choi (74 – T70), Carl Pettersson (76 – T99), Ernie Els (70 – T11), Jim Furyk (72 – T35), Fred Couples (74 – T70) and Vijay Singh (72 – T35).

 

Bogey-Free rounds:

R1: Blake Adams (69)

 

Scoring averages at the par-72 Muirfield Village Golf Club

Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative

Thursday 36.217 37.058 73.275 --

 

Tom Gillis (back), Sang-Moon Bae, Phil Mickelson and Boo Weekley all withdrew following the first round.