Miller Time

Plenty of Southern California competitors are in the field, but only a few managed to have solid days after the opening round at Torrey Pines.

Of course, even the worst day by a golfer pales in comparison to the atmosphere of the event as a whole.

UP

Jason Gore. The Valencia resident had the second-lowest total of the day on the South Course, shooting a steady 2-under 70 with only bogey. With two missed cuts in his first two 2009 events, Gore needs to set a tone of consistency if he wants to keep teeing it up on the PGA Tour – he only has conditional status since he finished 134^th on the money list last season.

Gregor Main. After a decorated junior career, the Northern California native enrolled at UCLA last fall and has already established himself as a force at the collegiate level. Main won the pre-qualifier at El Camino Country Club last week, then survived a playoff for one of four spots in the Monday qualifier at the same course. It’s very early, but so far, the Bruins freshman has taken advantage of his entry, posting a two-under 70 on the North Course to position himself inside the top 20 and hold low amateur honors for the day.

Charley Hoffman. The Poway native still hasn’t posted a round over par in 2009. After opening with a 72 in the first round at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Hoffman reeled off four straight rounds in the 60s to finish tied for 19^th, then nearly grabbed his second Tour win by finishing runner-up in a playoff to Kenny Perry last week at the FBR Open. He saved his round by going bunker-bunker-bottom of the cup on the par-3 eighth on the South Course, his 17^th hole of the day. That unorthodox sand save kept his day tidy, and he ended up at one-under 71 with the easier North to play tomorrow.

DOWN

The galleries. Or, more specifically, lack thereof. I guess the absence of Tiger Woods really is that important to Buick spectators. I walked the course twice today, and it was by far the thinnest turnout I had ever seen. Granted I’m a youngster and most of the Buicks I’ve attended have been with Woods in the field, but I expected there to be fewer people in attendance with Numero Uno sidelined – just not this few. From autograph seekers to partygoers, it was simply much slimmer throughout the property in the first round. I hope the rain doesn’t deter attendees in the following days, but without Tiger in the field, the galleries might have already been washed away.

Phil Mickelson. Leave it to Lefty to turn what could have been an excellent round into one that was very good. Mickelson didn’t take himself out of contention with a two-under-par 70 on the South Course – actually, he placed himself firmly in contention – but despite his “good round” was sure sloppy. The 38-year-old San Diegan duffed a bunker shot on the short par-4 second for bogey, hit a shoddy tee shot on the par-3 eighth that led to another dropped shot, then curiously hit driver from the fairway on the long par-5 ninth that left him with two difficult bunker shots. He managed to get up-and-down from the second trap for a closing par, but if he had executed only a little better from tee-to-green, his seven-shot deficit to leader Camilo Villegas would almost certainly be smaller.

Locals players on the North Course. For the second straight year, the North Course played a lot tougher than it has been in previous years this decade. After a 71.68 stroke average during the first two rounds of 2008, the first round average on the North so far has been 71.73. Nevertheless, it’s still by far the easier of the two tracks, and anything over par almost certainly means an under-par tally on the South Course Friday is needed to stick around for the weekend. So, locals Peter Tomasulo (73), John Merrick (74), John Mallinger (74), Bill Lunde (74), James Oh (74) and Scott Piercy (75) have their work cut out for them tomorrow.

That's all for today. Check back all day tomorrow for more updates and find out who will be around for what is already shaping up to be a soggy weekend in San Diego.

(3:55) Camilo reigns after Round 1. The rain has started to come down at Torrey Pines, but every player was able to finish on both the North and South courses.

The day belonged to Camilo Villegas, who carded a torrid 63 on the North with a pair of chip-ins – one for eagle on the par-4 second and another for birdie on the par-3 17^th – to go with seven more birdies and only a single bogey.

“Pretty fun day, obviously. Two chip-ins – that helps,” Villegas said following his round. “But even if you take the chip-ins out, I played pretty good. I hit some great shots and left myself some good opportunities.”

The 27-year-old Colombian, whose wins in the last two 2008 FedEx Cup events were the first two triumphs of his PGA Tour career, credits a new 63-degree wedge in his bag with giving him enhanced touch out of Torrey’s gnarly rough and.

“There’s some shots that I couldn’t hit before, and this one I can really nip,” he said.

Villegas leads by three over Davis Love III and Aaron Baddeley, who each shot 66.

Check back in a bit for three Southern California competitors up, and three down.