Laird leads by a shot after Round One at Jennings Mill  PGA TOUR Staff ATHENS, Ga. -- Martin Laird shot a 6-under-par 66 for a one-stroke lead over 1996 U.S. Open winner Steve Jones and four other players who finished at 5 under par in the first round of the $500,000 Athens Regional Foundation Classic, the seventh of 32 events on the 2007 Nationwide Tour schedule.  Martin Laird went deep into the red Thursday at Jennings Mill. (Stan Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
The 24-year-old Colorado State graduate from Glasgow, Scotland, has made five of six cuts on the Nationwide Tour this season, but said Thursday's round was the first time in 2007 that he really played well. "It was a good day from the start," said Laird, who hit 12 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation. "I hit it really well yesterday in the pro-am and that carried over into today." Jones, an eight-time winner on the PGA TOUR, said that changing to a cross-handed putting grip last week was the key to his improved play. Jones began experimenting with the grip two weeks ago after watching his friend's 16-year-old son have success with it. "After eight years of putting terribly, this grip really helped me focus on my shoulders and my follow-through," said Jones. It also helped Jones fire a bogey-free 67 during his fifth career Nationwide Tour event. Jones made the cut in his previous two Nationwide Tour starts with a T75 at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by Dynamic Industries and a T26 at the Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship. He plans to play on the PGA TOUR and the European Tour as well this year, but admitted the difference in the three Tours is minimal. "You don't see a difference in the competition," Jones said. "The only big difference for me is these are the first times that I am playing many of these courses. You have to play well nowadays whichever Tour you play on. Everyone on the Nationwide Tour is that good." Two-time Nationwide Tour winner Richard Johnson was among the players 5 under. Johnson was on cruise control until the 18th hole when he hit two balls into the hazard, but still managed to chip in from off the green for a bogey. "I hit it really well today," said Johnson, who ranked third in putting with 25 putts during his round. "It was one of those rounds where I could have scored much better, but after 18, it also could have been much worse." Also in the group at 5 under par were Monday qualifier Jeff Street, Robin Freeman and Jim McGovern. Sponsor's exemption Matt Peterson finished at 4 under par and is two strokes off the lead. The former Georgia Bulldog is currently the head professional at the University of Georgia Golf Course. Peterson enjoyed a great career on the Nationwide Tour from 1993-2004 that included a victory at the 1995 Central Georgia Open. Despite not playing on Tour since 2004, he still ranks 27th in career earnings with nearly $700,000. First-Round News & Notes: The wind picked up later in the day, forcing scores higher for those who teed off in the afternoon. The wind was calm in the morning, staying at 5-10 mph. Winds increased around 3:00 p.m. to 8-12 with gusts up to 15-18 mph. ... Robert Damron, Chris Baryla, Jeremy Anderson and Ricky Barnes finished with the best scores of the afternoon group at 4 under par. ... Barnes was the only player in the afternoon with a bogey-free round. In the morning wave, Jim McGovern (67), Steve Jones (67) Jeff Street (67), Michael Letzig (68), Matt Peterson, (68) Michael Sims (69), Ron Whittaker (69) and Jeff Hull (68) shot bogey-free rounds on Thursday. ... The scoring average during the first round was 72.199. Last year's first-round scoring average was 71.532. The toughest hole was the par-3 13th hole with a 3.282 average, yielding just nine birdies on the day. The par-5 14th hole ranked the easiest at 4..490. THEY SAID IT: Richard Johnson on being the manager of a Waffle House in Augusta, Ga., "And I don't even like eggs, can you believe it?" Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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