Watney's 68 leads Mercedes

Posted January 03, 2008 10:00 pm

Associated Press

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Opening day on the PGA Tour was filled with oddities, starting with Nick Watney leading the Mercedes-Benz Championship on Thursday with a 5-under 68 that featured no bogeys and a mixture of sunshine and rain.

Newcomers are supposed to be at a disadvantage on the Plantation Course at Kapalua with its mammoth greens and severe grain, but Watney kept it simple and poured in enough putts to take a 1-shot lead over Daniel Chopra in the winners-only event and get his season off to a good start.

"I think maybe they say that because the greens are very grainy," Watney said. "I think for me personally with the green, if I don't know what a putt is going to do, then I'll just play grain. So it worked out today."

Brandt Snedeker was in the lead most of the round until shooting a 71 after a bogey-bogey finish.

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