Fan favorite Rocco Mediate in contention after first round of Frys.com open
Recap
Rocco Mediate stands at the top of the leader board after the first round of the Frys.com open being played at Northern California’s CordeValle golf club. Mediate fired a seven under 64, yesterday, highlighted by a bogey free round and a hole-in-one on the
190-yard third hole.
When asked about his hole-in-one Mediate replied, "It's just cool," adding, "It looked like it barely fell in."
Paul Goydos, Bo Van Felt and Ryuji Imada are sitting one shot back of Mediate with rounds of 65, while John Mallinger, Michael Letzig, Shaun Micheel and Will MacKenzie are tied for third with rounds of 66.
Notables for the tournament include young up-start Rickie Fowler who shot a 69 and previous world number one David Duval who is fighting to maintain his tour card for next year and is in good position to do so after a three under round.
Dire situations
Mediate reflected on his sizzling round saying, "You can wait your whole life for this feeling." He is no stranger to tournament pressure. Many remember him giving Tiger Woods a run for his money at the 2008 U.S. Open which saw them play 19 extra holes before
Woods was determined the champion.
Mediate has struggled to crack the top ten in tournaments and has not finished higher than ninth since his memorable duel with Tiger. Mediate blames his putting game for his recent poor performance saying, "It has just been destroying me. I reach the fairway
and hit the green but I three-putt three to five times a day and you're not going to beat anybody doing that.”
Mediate is not only fighting this week for a boost of confidence but also for his tour card. Mediate is currently 182nd on the money list but must finish the season ion the top 125 to retain his playing privileges. He seems comfortable with the possibility
of loosing his tour card and bluntly told reporters, “If I don’t have enough money to be in the top 125 then I don’t belong there” to which he added, “"I'll go to Q-school if I have to. I know I can still compete.”
Ryuji Imada, sitting at 110th on the money list, is also in desperate need of a good performance with a very tenuous grasp on his tour card. Imada’s recent play has been characterized by very poor showings, missing the cut in 10 of his last 14 tournaments.
At the heart of this cold streak is a rib injury that has plagued him since early in the year and has gotten progressively worse throughout the year.
"The only way to heal an injury like that is to take time off," he said. "I was told to take eight weeks off but I was only able to take four weeks off. It doesn't hurt to practice but I know it's there and I have to be careful with it."
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