Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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July 30, 2010

Red-letter day at Greenbrier Classic

By DAVE MORRISON for the Daily Telegraph

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — It was a red-letter day at The Greenbrier Resort.

And it had more to do with the action on the course than the pomp and circumstance going on around The Greenbrier.

A total of 81 golfers fired in the red numbers in the opening round of the inaugural Greenbrier Classic Thursday and 97 of the 155 were at even-par.

Matt Every and double heart transplant survivor Erik Compton fired a 7-under par 64s to take a one shot lead after the first day of the Classic.

Compton overcame bogeys on two of his first three holes to finish with a share of the lead.

“Yeah, it was a difficult start,” Compton said. “I felt like I hit some good shots early, and I bogeyed the second and three-putt the third. You have to drive it good. And if you do, you have to take advantage”

Afternoon play was interrupted by a lightning delay that lasted 1:33.

That didn’t slow Every, who had three straight birdies, on Nos. 16, 17 and 18.

“It was nice to pick those up right there, but you take them wherever you can get them,” said Every, who earned his PGA card after winning the Nationwide Championship last year.

He was 6-under at the turn, which included and eagle, and had just one birdie on the backside.

The scores were low from the start, as the Pros took aim at the Greenbrier’s Old White course.

There were three players at 6-under and five more at 5-under.

Pat Perez, who is tied for second with George McNeil and Jeff Overton, said he knew he needed a low number to start.

“This is going to be the kind of course where it’s going to be 20-under par that wins this tournament, so you get into that mindset,” Perez said. “I got into this mindset at Hope last year when I won. Tomorrow I need to come out and shoot another 6 if I can.”

McNeil, of Fort Myers, Fla., fired a 6-under 64 to hold the lead for a short time.

It was a big round for the former assistant club pro.

“Don’t make bogeys, don’t make doubles,” McNeil said. “Basically you’ve got to go out and play your own game. You have to get out and hit fairways and greens and give yourself opportunities.”

He finished with three straight birdies to hold the lead for a short while, before Compton made his run, which included three straight birdies on Nos. 16, 17 and 18.

Then there were the 5-unders.

Like Virginia Tech alum Brendon de Jonge, of Charlotte, N.C. who, buoyed by support from Hokie Nation, was the leader in the clubhouse.

Shortly.

Playing with an early tee-time, de Jonge had seven birdies and a couple bogeys in his opening round of 65.

"The course was exactly what we expected," de Jonge said. “It’s going to give up some low scores, for sure.

“I made a couple tough bogeys, but I made some good birdies on some good holes to make up for them.”

Dean Wilson, who fell in the Canadian Open last week, bounced back nicely, with a 4-under-66.

“I took a lot of positives from last week,” Wilson said. “It’s pretty soft out there, so I think guys are going to be shooting at the pins and making a lot of birdies.”

West Virginia State Amateur champion Jonathan Bartlett fared well, shooting an even-par 70. But it may take more than that to make the cut.

Play continues today at the Greenbrier.

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