Howell opens with 65 at Reno-Tahoe

BY iseekgolf.com | US PGA Tour | 2002 Reno-Tahoe Open | Round One | 23 Aug 2002

Charles Howell III fired a sizzling opening round 65 that included five birides on the front nine to close the day at -7, one stroke better than John Rollins, JL Lewis and Tom Pernice Jr. Howell finished 18th at the US PGA last week but he hasn’t had a Top-10 finish since the Nissan Open in February of this year where he finished in equal 6th.

Australian Steve Allan bettered Howell’s five birdies on the front nine by one but a bogey and an Even par back nine left him trailing the leader by two strokes at the close of play on the first day. Rod Pampling was the next best Australasian at -4, while Peter O’Malley and Kiwi Michael Long are at -2 (70). 0’Malley suffered an inconsistent round with three bogeys inside the first five holes, but came back with five birdies to post his 70.

Geoff Ogilvy posted a 1, Bradley Hughes and Phil Tataurangi sit at Even par and in equal 49th. Mathew Goggin, John Senden and Frank Nobilo sit are at 1 (T66) while Grant Waite 2 (T83), Paul Gow 3 (T89), Aaron Baddeley ( 4) and Greg Chalmers ( 4) will struggle to make it to the weekend.

Round One – Australasian Scores
T5 -5 Steve Allan
T11 -4 Rod Pampling
T27 -2 Michael Long
T27 -2 Peter O’Malley
T33 -1 Geoff Ogilvy
T49 Even Phil Tataurangi
T49 Even Bradley Hughes
T66 1 Frank Nobilo
T66 1 John Senden
T66 1 Mathew Goggin
T83 2 Grant Waite
T89 3 Paul Gow
T99 4 Aaron Baddeley
T99 4 Greg ChalmersClick here to listen to an interview with Charles Howell at the 2001 Australian Open