1st round brings out low scores at Willow Creek
Leaders emerge after differing paths to Utah tournament
By Mike Sorensen
Deseret Morning News
SANDY — One is a former four-time college all-American
and one of the most successful college golfers of all-time.
The other is former computer programmer who never played college
golf and didn't even turn professional until he was 31.
What Bryce Molder and Scott Parel have in common is that they
both shot 8-under-par 64s at Willow Creek Country Club Thursday
to share the lead at the after one round of the Utah Championship.
Ken Duke and Craig Lile are one stroke back at 65, while three
golfers, Jeff Quinney, Aaron Barber and Michael Putnam stand
at 66.
As usual, the field is packed with good golfers shooting low
scores and a lot can happen before Sunday, but for now, Molder
and Parel top the leader board.
When he played for Georgia Tech in the late 1990s, Molder was
one of the most heralded college golfers ever.
The 27-year-old Arkansas native was a four-time first-team
all-American, one of just four golfers to accomplish that feat
along with Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Gary Hallberg, and
he also earned player of the year honors.
Molder won more than $500,000 on the PGA Tour in 2002 and 2003,
but lost his card and returned to the Nationwide Tour. After
struggling much of last year and early this year, Molder decided
to stop trying to play like everyone else and return to his
own game.
One key to Molder's round Thursday was his play on the par-5s.
He birdied all five, only one required a putt of more than
five feet. His other birdies came at No. 15 from 10 feet, No.
18 from eight feet and No. 5 from 20 feet.
Then coming down the stretch when he was "kind of holding
on," Molder sank putts from 15, 10 and 8 feet on three
of the final four holes.
In all, Molder needed just 21 putts, an astonishing number,
just more than one putt per hole.
"Today was a once-in-a-year round where
I didn't hit it spectacularly, but scored well," he said. "I'm
good at scrambling."
Parel was a better baseball player than golfer in high school
and never thought about making golf a career until he was in
his late 20s and winning amateur tournaments in Georgia.
He turned pro a decade ago at age 31 and after finding success
on the mini-tours, earned a spot on the Nationwide Tour. He
ranks just 100th on the money list this year and his 64 was
his best score in three years on the tour.
"I played very solid and rolled the ball really well today," said
Parel.
Parel took advantage of what he called "benign" conditions
in the afternoon and got it to 8-under par by the 13th hole,
but couldn't make a birdie on the final five holes.
Among local golfers Sandy's Steve Schneiter and Farmington's
Joseph Summerhays had the lowest scores, 2-under-par 70s that
puts them in a tie for 40th place. Former BYU golfer Ron Harvey
Jr. chipped in twice for birdies on the final four holes and
also finished with a 70.
Sandy's Todd Tanner, who finished in a tie for 22nd last year,
shot a 71, while Bountiful's Pete Stone, the Utah Open champion,
shot a 1-over-par 73. Local pros Kury Reynolds and Ashdon Woods
both shot 74, while Mark Owen and Henry White shot 76.
Farmington's Boyd Summerhays, who has split his time between
the PGA and Nationwide Tours this year, could only manage a
75.
Sixteen-year-old Tony Finau, who got off to a horrible start
at the Utah Open two weeks ago with a couple of triple bogeys,
did the same thing Thursday, making a quadruple-bogey at the
par-5 1st hole.
He made a couple of birdies on the back nine, but finished
with a 79.
His younger brother, Gipper, who led all qualifiers on Tuesday,
had a triple bogey and a double bogey on the front nine, but
came back to play the last eight holes in 4-under for a 73.
TOURNEY NOTES: Mike Perez made a hole in one at No. 5, the
10th in tournament history. He'll receive a pair of Rolex watches
from O.C. Tanner for the feat ... The cut today will be the
low 60 players plus ties ... Back in 1999, Molder played a
round with then-President Bill Clinton and shot a 60 at Cheneal
CC in Little Rock. He confirmed that Clinton likes to take
a lot of mulligans, but he didn't make a big deal of it. "What
are you going to say, 'No, Mr. President?," he said ...
In the past eight Nationwide tournaments in Utah, the leading
score after the first round has never been 64, although 63s
have led the tournament twice.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail: sor@desnews.com
Article
Courtesy of The Deseret News
