Heart to win

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — The big dog on the opening day of the Greenbrier Classic was a Bulldog. There’s a Gator lurking too.

Erik Compton overcame a pair of bogeys on the opening three holes to shoot a 7-under 63 for the first round lead at the Greenbrier Classic on a warm and muggy Thursday at the exquisite Greenbrier Resort.

Compton, a product of the University of Georgia, wound up tied for first place with Matt Every, who also shot a 63. Every is also an Southeastern Conference performer, having played at Florida.

Every had six birdies on his first nine holes, having started his round on the back nine. Compton also had nine birdies, including six on his final nine holes, all on the same back nine that Every played so well on.

That duo held a one-stroke lead over George McNeill, Pat Perez and Jeff Overton, all of whom shot 6-under 64s.

Five players were two shots back, including former Virginia Tech golfer and Pocahontas Amateur champion Brendon de Jonge and Charles Howell III, who fired 65s. There were 14 golfers were tied at 4-under 66, including Stuart Appleby and Paul Goydos, who shot a 59 at the John Deere Classic earlier this month.

There were 81 sub-par rounds in the event, and 97 among the 155 golfers in the field. One player, Steve Marino, a University of Virginia product, dropped out with back spasms.

The course conditions changed from the morning when it was hot and muggy to windy and wet after the tournament was delayed at an hour and 33 minutes by impending weather. Seventy-six golfers were able to finish before dusk fell, with Every making the biggest move.

However, after six birdies through nine holes, he only managed one more the rest of the round to finish in a tie with Compton.

“The greens on the last nine I played were getting pretty rough, real spiked up so it was tough to make any putts,” Every said. “I made a lot of my putts early, I made one on the back side, but I will take it.”

Low scores were the rule for the day, and Perez expects that to continue throughout the weekend, with little hope of that changing.

“Unless they put them right on the side of the mountain like this, there is nothing they can do because the rough isn’t that long,” Perez said. “I thought the rough would be longer. Every though they took out the immediate clubs, the rough just isn’t that long.”

Compton, who is a double-heart transplant survivor, started bumpy, bogeying the second and third holes, but never had anything over par the rest of the way. He fired a 32 on the front nine and improved to 31 on the back, narrowly missing a 30 when missing an eagle putt on 17.

“You have to drive it good. If you do, you can definitely take advantage,” Compton said. “I hit some really close shots, a couple of good putts … and I guess the round just kind of developed from there.”

Every, who finished as high as eighth on the PGA Tour this season, was able to record six birdies, including three straight, on the first nine holes.

“I drove it great, and then made some putts, my irons were pretty standard, but I drove it,” Every said. “It was in play on every hole so it was nice. It was nice to pick those birdies right there, you take them wherever you can get them out here.”

Perez is the only one of the three players on back with a PGA Tour win, a capturing the Bob Hope Classic in 2009. He had seven birdies and just one bogey on a course he likes.

“This is going be the kind of course where … it’s going be 20-under par that wins this tournament so you have to get into that mindset,” Perez said. “I got into this mindset at Hope last year when I won. I knew it would going to be really low.”

Overton has been on the brink of success all season, finishing second and third twice apiece, and 11th in the British Open. There was almost a three-way tie for first place, but Overton — who has finished in the top 12 in six of his last nine appearances — missed a birdie putt on the par-3 18th hole.

“It’s probably the best ball-striking round until the 18th hole that I’ve probably ever had,” Overton said. “I don’t really know if I missed any shots — the two times I missed the green I actually made the putts for birdie from off the fringe.

“It was a good ball-striking round. I hit some good putts, they just didn’t go in. Fun golf course. This place is really neat. They’ve got everything kind of down right here in the foothills of this place. It’s beautiful.”

The other second place finisher was McNeill, who also shot a 64, including three birdies on the final three holes. He hopes that momentum will continue today.

“Confidence-wise, it’s always nice to throw up a good round,” McNeill said. “Who knows? I might go out and shoot an 85 tomorrow. It happens. It’s not likely, but it happens …. It’s always nice to get off to a good start.” John Daly and Sergio Garcia finished with 69s. Jim Furyk, who can move into the lead in the FedExCup points standings with a good performance this week, shot a 68, as did Davis Love III.

The most disappointing round may have gone to Kenny Perry. The Kentucky native had vowed to contribute $2,000 for each birdie he made to the families of the Montcoal mining disaster. He shot a 75, with no birdies.

—Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com

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