Merrit Co-Leader Going Into Day 2 Of Sony Open, Still Longshot To Win

Sports News - January 15th, 2010 - Written By Bryan

Troy Merritt had never teed up in a PGA Tournament before Thursday at the Sony Open. Merritt, despite his PGA inexperience, now finds himself as one of the six tied at the top of the leader-board after round one. On a clear, windy day, at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, the first full field of the 2010 PGA Season produced a congested day of competition at The Sony Open. By the time the sun set on the beautiful shores along Waikiki Beach, 16 players were within two-shots of the lead.

Merritt got his PGA Tour card this season by going wire-to-wire in Q-School last month. The 24 year old Bronco from Boise State brought with him impressive credentials to the 2010 season, including becoming the first player in NCAA history to win five consecutive tournaments. Despite this, even the PGA officials had difficulty remembering who he was. For the first hour of Merritt's round on Thursday, the wrong name was displayed. "Merrick" was in capitalized, bold font until someone finally took notice. By close of day on Thursday, everyone was taking notice of this PGA Tour rookie.

Merritt currently shares the lead with Davis Love III, defending champion Zach Johnson, Robert Allenby, Ryan Palmer and John Merrick.

"My fiancee asked me, 'What do you want to accomplish on your first round?' And I said, 'I'd be ecstatic if I could shoot 3-under par.' I wasn't really thinking about that today," Merritt said in a post-round news conference. "And things went way better than I thought they could have gone."

Merritt's name mix up was due to fellow player in the field John Merrick, who sports a very similar last name.

"That's the ultimate 'flying under the radar' right there," Merritt laughed.

PGA Tour veteran Davis Love III had not played a competitive round of golf in over two months, but dusted off the clubs and climbed to the head of the pack with a bogey-free round of 65.

"I was optimistic," Love said. "But I was anxious about competing. Once I got it going, once I got under par. I've been out here a long time. You don't forget."

Fellow co-leader Allenby has had a history of success in Hawaii, with half of his four victories coming in the state. Allenby was the only player in the entire field to come in with a winning streak, as he had recently won the Nedbank Challenge and the Australian PGA. He had, however, suffered a set-back when he severely twisted his ankle. He was unsure if he was going to be able to play this week, but Allenby wasn't so quick to return on the 12-hour flight from Honolulu to his home in Orlando.

"And the weather is better," Allenby joked. "My putting was the best part of the day, I did hit some good shots, but my putting was good. It's the same as I left off last year."

Putting will be critical the final three days of the event. Waialae's undulated, two-tier greens puts a premium on putting. Weather forecasts for Friday, Saturday and Sunday call for windy conditions. Players will continue to battle the Hawaiian environment, where controlling the ball-flight trajectory will be invaluable. Waialae favors experience, as no player since 1997 has been under the age of 30 and won the event. Merritt is probably unaware of that.

Entering the tournament, Merritt was a member of "the field" according to PGA Betting Lines for the Sony Open. After the first round he is currently listed as a 66/1 shot to win his PGA Tour debut. Defending Champion Zach Johnson was among the betting favorites entering the week, and after his 65 on Thursday, finds himself atop betting lines. Currently, Johnson is a 6/1 favorite to win the tournament. Just behind Johnson is Stever Stricker, who is a 7/1 betting favorite after the completion of the first round. Co-leader Love had his odds increase dramatically, as he is currently going off at 16/1. Allenby was also a betting favorite entering this week and is now an 8/1 shot to claim his third career victory in the state of Hawaii.

Other Notables-

Angel Cabrera 14/1
Sean O'Hair 18/1
Rory Sabbatini 20/1
Retief Goosen 28/1
Ernie Els 33/1
Vijay Singh 50/1
Stewart Cink 30/1
Chad Campbell 28/1

For complete betting lines, visit Bodog.com