First-Round Notes – Thursday, March 3, 2022
Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 84. Wind ENE 8-14 mph, gusting to 20 mph.
| First-Round Leaderboard Chase Seiffert 65 (-7) Michael Kim 65 (-7) Ryan Brehm 66 (-6) Kiradech Aphibarnrat 67 (-5) Aaron Baddeley 67 (-5) |
Things to Know
• Following a T15 in last year’s Puerto Rico Open, Chase Seiffert birdies four of first five holes en route to a 7-under 65 • Playing out of the Past Champion beyond 150 the in 2020-21 FedExCup category, Michael Kim opens with a bogey-free 65 • Making his first TOUR start since the 2021 Wyndham Championship (MC), Ryan Brehm opens with a bogey-free 6-under 66 • Aaron Baddeley opens in 5-under 67 to extend streak to par-or-better rounds in the Puerto Rico Open to a perfect 13-for-13 • In his PGA TOUR debut, amateur Chris Gotterup posts 4-under 68 two weeks after winning the Puerto Rico Classic collegiate event at Grand Reserve Golf Club
• Puerto Rico native Rafa Campos birdies last two holes in his 13th Puerto Rico Open start, good for a 2-under 70
First-Round Lead Notes
1 First-round leader/co-leader to win the Puerto Rico Open (George McNeill/2012)
3 First-round leaders/co-leaders to win on TOUR in 2021-22 (Most recent: Joaquin Niemann/The Genesis Invitational)
| Category (entering the week) | Chase Seiffert | Michael Kim |
| Age | 30 (August 12, 1991) | 28 (July 14, 1993) |
| FedExCup | 168 | N/A |
| OWGR | 371 | 1,030 |
| Starts – wins – top-10s in PGA TOUR career | 57-0-3 | 161-1-2 |
| Starts – wins – top-10s on TOUR in 2021-22 | 5-0-0 | 2-0-0 |
| Starts – wins – top-10s at Puerto Rico Open | 2-0-0 | 2-0-0 |
Chase Seiffert (T1/-7)
• Despite hitting just five of 14 fairways, birdied four of his first five holes en route to a 7-under 65 • Is 12-under par in his last two rounds in the event after closing with a 5-under 67 last season
• Extends streak of par-or-better scores in the event to a perfect nine-for-nine, with his 65 the lowest among them • Marks his first 18-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR
• Making his third start in the Puerto Rico Open (2020/T52, 2021/T15)
• Making his sixth start of the 2021-22 season, with a T22 at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship his best finish • Making his 58th start on TOUR, with a T3 at the 2021 Honda Classic his best showing
Michael Kim (T1/-7)
• Playing out of the Past Champion beyond 150 in 2020-21 FedExCup category, 2018 John Deere Classic winner opened with a bogey-free 7-under 65; one of four players to complete their round without a bogey • Marks his first occasion to take an 18-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA TOUR
• In most recent start on TOUR, missed the cut at the 2021 Butterfield Bermuda Championship
• Best finish of five starts on the Korn Ferry Tour this season was T15 at the Panama Championship
Miscellaneous Notes
• After a T11 finish in the 2021 Puerto Rico Open, Ryan Brehm posted a bogey-free 5-under 67 (3rd); is making his first start on TOUR since the 2021 Wyndham Championship (MC)
• Looking for a third top-10 finish in his fourth Puerto Rico Open start, four-time PGA TOUR winner Aaron Baddeley opened with a 5-under 67 (T4) to extend his streak of par-or-better scores at the Puerto Rico Open to a perfect 13- for-13; finished T8 in 2016, T2 in 2019 and T30 last year
• Highlighted by four birdies and an eagle (par-5 fifth) Kiradech Aphibarnrat opened his third Puerto Rico Open with a 5-under 67 (T27/2020, MC/2021); best finish in six TOUR starts this season is T39/Butterfield Bermuda Championship
• Making his PGA TOUR debut, Chris Gotterup made five birdies and one bogey to open in 4-under 68 (T6); one of three amateurs in the field, the University of Oklahoma senior earned his way into this week’s field by virtue of winning the Puerto Rico Classic collegiate event at Grand Reserve Golf Club two weeks ago after rounds of 66- 64-66—196 (-20)
• Following a then-career-best PGA TOUR finish of T3 at the 2021 event, Puerto Rico native Rafa Campos birdied his last two holes, Nos. 17 and 18, to open with a 2-under 70 (T26) in his 13th Puerto Rico Open start; seeks a fourth top-10 finish in the event (2016/T8, 2017/T10, 2021/T3); in his second start after last year’s Puerto Rico Open, finished T2 at the 2021 Corales Puntacana Championship; became the first Puerto Rican to win on the Korn Ferry Tour (2019 Bahamas Great Abaco Classic) • Coming off a third-place finish at last week’s Honda Classic, first-year PGA TOUR member Kurt Kitayama is T98 after a 4-over 76 in his second Puerto Rico Open start (T17/2017)
