Stuart Appleby Hardly Wastes A Shot

Stuart Appleby enjoyed a great round of golf today as he shot a 7-under 63 to take a one shot lead at the Byron Nelson Championship. Appleby’s last win came on January 10 at the 2005 Mercedes Championships in Hawaii at the Plantation Course at Kapalua, Maui. Since his win at the Mercedes he hasn’t finished within the top ten in six starts.

Anybody who watched Appleby today was impressed with his efficient play and ability to execute needed shots. He holed out from 23 feet on the par-4 first and followed that up by holing out from 41 feet on the par-3 second. That is the way to boost your confidence as you start a round, if you were wondering. “Today was a much more balanced round of golf,” said Appleby. “I hit the ball well. I chipped well which is something I haven’t been doing well lately. I rolled the ball [well]. Overall a good rhythmical day.”

Appleby’s putter was hot, no doubt about it. He holed out from 22 feet on the par-4 fourth, birdied seven and nine, made a 13-foot birdie putt on 11, an 8-foot birdie putt on 13, an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th, and drained another 8-footer on 18 to save par. He read putts well and on top of that his speed was great when trying to get it close to the hole on lag putts. Appleby’s only bogey came on 6 when he chipped it well past the hole and wasn’t able to make it up and down.

John Daly, Ernie Els, and Brett Wetterich were all one stroke off the lead at the end of round one. Daly was on the easier Cottonwood Valley Golf Course and described his round as “mediocre.” Daly holed out from off the green on both the 3rd and 12th holes. Just three more mediocre days like that and Daly is the next Byron Nelson champion.

Of the “Big Five” Ernie Els had the best day with six birdies and no bogeys. Erie Said “You can’t ask for a better start than this. I felt pretty good with my swing this morning.” Vijay Singh had a bipolar seven birdies and five bogeys with six pars. “I played six, seven holes pretty good and six, seven holes pretty badly and six, seven holes OK,” Singh said. Tiger couldn’t get his putter going and finished T42 at one-under. His eagle and one birdie offset two bogeys. Phil Mickelson carded a 1-under 69 and Retief Goosen finished even.

There are three days of golf left and conditions look like they’ll hold through the weekend.

Pos   Player               Tot    R1
1     Stuart Appleby        -7    63
T2    John Daly             -6    64
T2    Ernie Els             -6    64
T2    Brett Wetterich       -6    64
T5    Steve Lowery          -5    65
T5    Omar Uresti           -5    65
T5    Ted Purdy             -5    65
T8    Glen Day              -4    66
T8    Ian Leggatt           -4    66
T8    Todd Fischer          -4    66

The EDS Byron Nelson Championship can be seen on USA and CBS at the following times:

Fri    4-6pm ET    USA
Sat    3-6pm ET    CBS
Sun    3-6pm ET    CBS

Photo Credits: © AP.