Elder tops crowded leaderboard

Tommy Tolles had one of those rare rounds when everything seemed to go his way.

He made a 40-foot chip for par, holed out twice from a bunker and made a 25-foot birdie from the fringe in a 6-under 66 that left him one stroke behind first-round leader Brad Elder at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic.

``Players always complain that breaks never go their way. I'm no different from anybody else,'' Tolles said Thursday. ``But today I got multiple good breaks.''

Tolles was one of eight players tied for second, along with defending champion Cameron Beckman and rookie Jonathan Byrd, who won his first PGA tournament last week.

The weather was cool, clear and breezy, but the 7,199-yard Annandale Golf Club course was still showing the effects of about 13 inches of rain that fell in the area over the last five weeks.

Conditions were so soggy that players were allowed to lift, clean and place balls in the fairway. The rule allows players to wipe mud off the ball and find a dry spot from which to hit. Often players refer to the rule as ``lift, clean and cheat'' as it tends to make scores plunge.

It didn't help Elder early as he was 2-over after three holes.

``I didn't hit my first green until the fourth hole,'' he said. ``But I hung in there and played well.''

Elder's ninth birdie of the round gave him the lead on the par-5 18th. He was about 70 feet from the hole when he chipped onto the green with a wedge, then made a 6-footer for a 7-under 65.

Tolles, who made the field as an alternate, began the day by holing a wedge from the bunker for birdie on the par-4 10th. It was just the beginning of a weird round.

On his second nine, Tolles chipped in from 40 yards to save par on No. 2, a par-3. He birdied No. 4 from 25 feet, then eagled No. 5 with a 25-foot shot out of a bunker.

``Stuff like that happens once a round, once a week, maybe once a month. I did it three times in one day,'' he said. ``I had a lot of good fortune out there.''

Kirk Triplett, Luke Donald, Eduardo Herrera, Deane Pappas and Jonathan Kaye were also tied for second.

The final stop on the PGA Tour marks the last shot for players to earn playing privileges for next season. The top 125 on the money list are fully exempt in 2003. Those outside the top 125 have to earn their Tour cards in Q School.

Elder is No. 173 and Tolles is 177th on the money list. Both would need a win to earn their cards.

``Well, one round doesn't do much for me,'' Tolles said. ``It's going to take four rounds.''

None of the players on the bubble made a strong first-round move.

Craig Barlow, who is 124th, shot a 3-under 69 and was tied for 25th. No. 121 Andrew Magee shot a 70, while Kaname Yokoo (127), Jay Don Blake (129) and Bob May (137) all shot 71.

No. 125 David Frost could be in trouble after shooting a 72.

All the number crunching makes for a stressful week for some golfers.

Triplett did his best to break the tension when he donned a rubber mask for Halloween while walking to 18th green.

With a toothy, grinning golf ball covering his head, Triplett stood cross-legged and leaned on his putter as his playing partners putted. When it came time for him to hit his 4-footer for birdie, he took the mask off -- then made the putt.

``If I was a couple over I would have putted with the mask,'' he said. ``I'm going to have some fun you know, but I'm still here to win the tournament.''

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page