Sitting at 182nd on the money list, Rocco Mediate needed to save something up his sleeve for the final three tournaments of the season to earn his PGA Tour card.
On Thursday, he had an ace.
Mediate made a hole-in-one on the 191-yard third hole at CordeValle Golf Club, sparking a 7-under 64 that vaulted him to the top of the leader board in the opening round of the Frys.com Open in San Martin.
The 2008 U.S. Open runner-up to Tiger Woods shot a blistering 6-under 29 on the front nine, and added a birdie on No. 15 to take a one-shot lead over Bo Van Pelt, Ryuji Imada and Paul Goydos. Four more players are within two of the lead, including 2003 PGA champion Shaun Micheel.
If Mediate had won his 19-hole U.S. Open playoff against Woods at Torrey Pines in 2008, he would have earned a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
Instead, he lost full playing privileges last year, and he's trying to gain them back with a last-ditch effort in the Fall Series.
But Mediate is still reminded of the 2008 U.S. Open by fans every day, or "47 million times" by his estimation. And he savors it.
"I want to get back there again," Mediate said. "I want to get back to that situation. Even today, it was fun playing with the lead. I don't care what day it is."
Mediate gave himself a clean bill of health, but he self-diagnosed his golfing troubles in the past year to putting. Mediate is 183rd on the PGA Tour in putting average, and has made just nine of 23 cuts this season.
"I've been striking it really well for a long time, but my putting has been murdering me, and it's been bleeding into the rest of my game," Mediate said.
Mediate had just 27 putts Thursday, and he's made his last three cuts thanks to an adjustment in his stroke.
"All the great putters keep their blade low to the ground and I was coming straight up and down," Mediate said. "I was practically chipping it."
Fresh off his assistant captain duties with the U.S. Ryder Cup team, Goydos who had a 59 earlier this season shot 30 on the front nine to grab a share of the early lead.
"It was really inspiring to be around those guys," said Goydos, who is 76th on the money list, but would earn berths into all of next year's invitationals if he finished inside the top 70. "I definitely think it helped my mental attitude toward the game."
Van Pelt has plenty of job security, sitting 20th on the money list after making nearly $2.9 million this season. But he's looking for the one thing that's eluded him a win.
"I wanted to take one more shot at it before I shut it down for 2010," said Van Pelt said.
Imada came into the Frys.com Open on the bubble, sitting in 110th place with $758,097. A tour official earlier this week estimated it would take $775,000 finish inside the top 125.
"I'm not very comfortable," said Imada, who is also entered to play next week in Las Vegas. "Obviously the number is going to be a little bit higher than what I'm at right now. So really got to have a good week, and hopefully I can have a really enjoyable week next week in Vegas."
Micheel is tied for fifth with John Mallinger, Michael Letzig and Will MacKenzie.
Last year's Frys.com Open playoff runner-up Jamie Lovemark was also 5-under until a double-bogey on his final hole dropped him in a tie for 14th. Also 14th is David Duval, who birdied for of his first seven holes before shooting a 3-under 68. Duval is 109th on the money list.
"I think if you're Nos. 122-123, it's up to you, but you can play OK and still get kinda batted around," Duval said. "In my position, it's up to me."
Defending champion Troy Matteson shot a 1-over 72, Rickie Fowler who lost a three-way playoff in last year's Frys.com Open finished 2-under.
? The Frys.com Open will be played a week earlier next year, from Oct. 6-9, preventing a conflict with the LPGA's CVS/pharmacy Challenge.
San Martin and Danville are 60 miles apart.
? Live Oak grad John Ellis opened with a 70, Stanford and St. Francis alum Joseph Bramlett posted a 74, Monterey's Chris Marin shot 75 and San Jose Stater Isaac Weintraub finished with a 79.
? After shooting a 77 at the Institute Golf Club on Tuesday, Goydos played with owner John Fry on Wednesday. Goydos called the greens, which rolled faster than a 15 on the stimp meter, the fastest he's ever putted. Pebble Beach's greens at the U.S. Open rolled close to a 13.
"He is a math genius," said Goydos of Fry. "He designed the greens to maximize speed. You don't want too much slope, but you don't want too little slope. He did some math equation.
"It's not like you are putting off greens or any of this crazy stuff. Golf course is playable with greens at 15. That's very rare in today's game. I guess the math, in a sense, works."
The Institute is expected to replace CordeValle as the Frys.com Open venue in as little as three years.
"That golf course is stout," Goydos said. "And it is going to challenge you to the bitter end. You play 16 holes, you got to hit it over your head for 16 holes. And the last two holes are 270-yard par 3 and 520-yard par 4 after going 16 with Ali."
1st round leaders
Rocco Mediate ?29-35 64
Ryuji Imada ?32-33 65
Bo VanPelt ?33-32 65
Paul Goydos ?30-35 65
John Mallinger ?32-34 66
Michael Letzig ?32-34 66
Will MacKenzie ?34-32 66
Shaun Micheel ?33-33 66
Tom Pernice,Jr. ?32-35 67
Chris Riley ?33-34 67
Chris DiMarco ?34-33 67
Tim Herron ?31-36 67
Henrik Stenson ?32-35 67
