Aug 16 (Reuters) - Swede Carl Pettersson, riding momentum
from his good form at the PGA Championship, fired a flawless
eight-under 62 for a one-shot lead after Thursday's opening
round of the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.
Pettersson, fresh off a tie for third at Kiawah Island in
the year's last major, had eight birdies to sit one shot clear
of American David Mathis and South African Tim Clark at
Sedgefield Country Club.
"I started off the round good with two birdies in the first
three holes and got me kind of straight back into the score mode
from last week," said Pettersson.
"I hit it pretty good off the tee and hit my irons good and
putted really well. It was a great day for me."
Americans Tom Gillis, Troy Matteson and Scott Stallings were
tied in fourth place after shooting matching 64s in the final
event before the FedEx Cup playoffs begin next week.
Defending champion Webb Simpson, who captured his first PGA
title here last year, was among a group of 12 golfers sitting
four shots off the pace.
Clark and Pettersson both played college golf for nearby
North Carolina State and used their local knowledge to full
effect at Sedgefield.
Pettersson, the 2008 champion of the event, opened on the
back nine and rolled in a six foot birdie on the 11th to kick
start his round.
He drained 17-foot birdie putts on the 12th and 16th holes
before converting a shorter eight-foot try on the 18th to turn
four under.
A run of four pars failed to give an indication of the blitz
to come but Pettersson drained four consecutive birdies from the
par-five fifth to take the outright lead.
Pettersson is already assured of a deep run through the
playoffs, entering this week in ninth position, but for others
this is the last chance to get inside the top 125 to make it to
the Barclays next week.
Mathis started the best of those outside the mark, with a
second place projection moving him from 136th to 86th.
"It's nice to get off to a solid start, give myself an
opportunity to go forward to have a good finish and get in those
playoffs which, gosh, it's a pretty big deal," said Mathis.
Jason Bohn (70) and Jhonattan Vegas (71) need improvement on
Friday or they are projected to fall outside of the mark.
Former major winners Yang Yong-eun, John Daly and Angel
Cabrera are all still projected outside the top 125 although
Yang's 67 gives the South Korean a base to make a late push.
(Reporting by Ben Everill in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank
Pingue)