Bob Hope Classic: Round 1 notebook

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Weather: Mostly sunny skies in the morning, giving way to clouds and rain in the afternoon. Temperatures reached into the lower 60s, with 6-12 mph SE winds. The lift, clean and place option was in effect.

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• Thirty-seven celebrities joined 128 PGA TOUR Professionals at the 2010 Bob Hope Classic, contested over four courses in the La Quinta area. In 2010, La Quinta C.C. was added to the rotation, replacing Bermuda Dunes.

• In his 133rd PGA TOUR start, Denver native Shane Bertsch blistered the Nicklaus course in Round 1 with a bogey-free, 10-under 62 to take a two-stroke lead over rookie Alex Prugh. The 62 betters by one his previous career low of 7-under 63 (2006 Sony Open in Hawaii/3).

• The largest lead after the first round at the Bob Hope Classic remains three strokes, held by Pat Perez (2006), Craig Stadler (1983) and Rik Massengale (1977).

• Shane Bertsch, who battled vertigo in 2007, has been spotty with his starts on the PGA TOUR in the past few years. He missed the cut in both starts on TOUR last year and made the cut in three of four Nationwide Tour starts. At the end of the 2009 season, he finished tied for 15th at the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament to earn his fully-exempt status for the 2010 season.

• Shane Bertsch is competing in his fifth Bob Hope Classic, with best finishes being T16s in 2006 and 2008. He did not compete in last year's event.

• Bertsch, a two-time winner on the Nationwide Tour, is looking to better his best PGA TOUR finish, a tie for fifth at the 1996 Greater Vancouver Open.

• The 2010 Bob Hope Classic marks the first 18-hole lead of Bertsch's career.

• Dating back to 1960, the first-round leader of the Bob Hope Classic has held on to win 12 times, the most recent being Pat Perez last year.

• Playing in just the third PGA TOUR event of his career, 25-year-old Las Vegas resident and PGA TOUR rookie, Alex Prugh made 10 birdies en route to an 8-under 64 in Round 1. He trails Shane Bertsch by two strokes. Prugh previously missed the cut at the 2007 U.S. Open and finished T72 at last week's Sony Open in Hawaii in his first PGA TOUR start as a professional.

• The last time Prugh posted an 8-under 64, it led to victory. At last year's inaugural Michael Hill New Zealand Open, he posted the low score in the final round to claim his first professional title. In addition to the Nationwide Tour win, he claimed an additional four other top-10 finishes.

• A University of Washington graduate (2007), Alex Prugh was a two-time All-American and three-time All-PAC 10 selection.

• Having played two seasons on the Nationwide Tour, Prugh earned his fully-exempt status on the PGA TOUR by virtue of a T16 finish on the 2009 Nationwide Tour money list.

• In his first competitive round of the year, J.P. Hayes fired a 7-under 65 on the Palmer course in Round 1 to sit three strokes off Shane Bertsch's lead of 10-under. Hayes shares fourth place with Garrett Willis, Joe Ogilvie and George McNeill.

• Hayes is competing in his eighth Bob Hope Classic, with four missed cuts and a best finish being T16 in 2002. He has not played the event since 2007 (MC).

• Although his success has been marginal at the Bob Hope Classic, Hayes does hold one distinction no others can claim in this event. In the first round of the 1992 event, Hayes reeled off eight consecutive birdies, a tournament record which stands today.

• After making six of 15 cuts on the PGA TOUR in 2009, J.P. Hayes finished T8 at the Qualifying Tournament to regain fully-exempt status in 2010.

• Playing in just his third-ever PGA TOUR event, rookie Mark Flores delivered a bogey-free 6-under 66 in Round 1 despite being unable to crack a 70 percent accuracy off the tee or into greens (9/13, 12/18, respectively). He trails Shane Bertsch by three.

• Martin Flores played previously at the 2006 EDS Byron Nelson Championship (MC) and last week at the Sony Open in Hawaii (T59). He made the cut in four of nine starts in his rookie season of 2009 on the Nationwide Tour, with his best finish being a T13 at the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic.

• Heath Slocum, who did not compete at last week's Sony Open in Hawaii after a T27 at the SBS Championship, fired a bogey-free, 6-under 66 on the Palmer Course in Round 1. He trails Shane Bertsch by three strokes.

• Slocum has competed in every Bob Hope Classic since 2002, with his lone top-10 being a T4 in 2007.

• Defending champion Pat Perez shot a 4-under 68 and is six off of the lead.

• Ryan Palmer, who won last week's Sony Open in Hawaii shot an even-par 72.

• David Duval, who fired a final-round, 13-under, 59 at PGA West's Palmer Course en route to his 1999 victory, opened with a 2-over 74.

• There are 10 past champions of the Bob Hope Classic in the field this week, dating back to Craig Stadler in 1980. The best opening-round score among those 10 belonged to Mike Weir who posted a 5-under 67.

• The Bob Hope Classic has produced just five first-time winners since its 1960 inception, two of which have come in the past three years. Pat Perez broke into the winner's circle for the first time here last year, and Charley Hoffman achieved the feat in 2007.