Pappas, Whittaker share

Nationwide Tour lead

MIDLAND, Texas -- South African Brenden Pappas and Arkansas resident Ron Whittaker birdied their final hole of the day to shoot 6-under 66's Thursday and share the first-round lead at the Nationwide Tour's MNB Golf Classic. Both players made their way around Midland Country Club with eight birdies and two bogeys to stand one shot ahead of seven others.
Brandt Jobe, Major Manning, William McGirt, Alistair Presnell, Nate Smith, Andrew Svoboda and Gary Woodland are log jammed at 5-under 67. Bubba Dickerson, 2001 U.S. Amateur champion, and Luke List, 2004 U.S. Amateur runner-up, headline a list of eleven others tied at 4-under 68, two back.

Pappas, playing in his fourth Nationwide Tour event of the year, charged to the top of the leaderboard with five birdies on his first nine holes, sharing the spotlight with Alistair Presnell, who finished his bogey-free round an hour before Pappas teed off.

Pappas rolled in two more birdies after he made the turn to go up by two strokes but gave them back with bogey's on the par-5 4th hole and 224-yard, par-3 eighth hole.

"I had a lesson with David Frost five days ago," said Pappas, who is a US PGA Tour member. "It was just on a couple of little setup things. It felt really good on the first nine but then all the old habits started to creep up on the back nine."

Pappas earned his 2010 US PGA Tour card by finishing T12 at Q-School last year. He has played in 19 US PGA Tour events this year with his best finish, T37, coming at the RBC Canadian Open.

Despite Pappas working on his swing with 10-time US PGA Tour winner David Frost, one thing he didn't need help with was his putting. Pappas needed just 24 putts in the first round.

"It's really nice to putt on some good firm greens," he said. "They're going to be nice and hard and fast the rest of the week if this wind keeps up and that's right in my wheelhouse."
Whittaker got off to a fast start with four birdies on his first five holes but suffered a bogey at the difficult par-3 8th hole. He recovered with a birdie four holes later but gave it right back on the par-4 13th hole before jumping back on the birdie train.
"I actually putted really well today," said Whittaker, who birdied three of his last five holes. "I hit the ball okay but my putter was the key to my round. When it's windy like this you have to putt well."

Whittaker, like Pappas, had 24 putts today. He rolled in a 40-foot putt for birdie on the par-3 third hole and then made a 20-footer for birdie from the fringe on the next hole.

Whittaker nearly won here in 2007. He finished regulation play tied with Brad Adamonis, Tjaart van der Walt and Vance Veazey at 10-under 278. Whittaker missed a six-foot putt for par on the first extra hole to be eliminated from the play-off. The play-off ended seven holes later when Adamonis made birdie over van der Walt.

"The wind was so strong today you could hit an eight iron 195 yards on one hole and then hit it 130 yards on the next hole," said Whittaker, who ended up winning the Chattanooga Classic the week after the playoff. "That's what makes this golf course so great. I have good vibes out here. This course sets up well for my game."

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