Kelly/Stricker team shares Shark Shootout lead with Leonard/Verplank

NAPLES, Fla. -- The two teams that tied for the lead of the Shark Shootout arrived there different ways during Friday's first round.

Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly were hot on the front nine, while Justin Leonard and Scott Verplank caught fire on the back. The end result was the same: 6-under 66s at Tiburon Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort.

"One side went so well, and the other side ... we were fighting and nothing was going right," said Stricker, the world's No. 3 player.

"It was fun," said Kelly, who won the Shootout with Rod Pampling in 2006 in a playoff with Leonard and Verplank. "Not that the backside wasn't fun, but we just kind of hit that wall."

Kelly and Stricker birdied No. 5, eagled No. 6, birdied Nos. 7-9, then added another birdie on No. 12. But they struggled after that, playing the final six holes in 1 over.

"Just a lot of little things," Stricker said. "We didn't make the putts. We hit some good putts that went over the edges."

Leonard and Verplank did the opposite, with birdies on four of their last six holes. They were 3 under after six, but double-bogeyed No. 9.

"We played well on the back nine," Verplank said. "We played good on the front, but had a little hiccup on the ninth hole. We pretty much butchered that hole from the get-go."

Tim Clark and Chad Campbell were in third place, one shot back at 5 under, along with Steve Flesch and Dustin Johnson. Chris DiMarco and Rickie Fowler, the 20-year-old who is the youngest player in Shootout history, were tied for sixth with two other teams at 3 under.

The tournament hosted by Greg Norman continues through Sunday. Teams will play better ball Saturday and a scramble Sunday.

It's the first time that Norman, who had shoulder surgery in September, isn't playing in his event.

Verplank helped the pair finish off the round starting on the par-5 17th. He was in pine straw well off the green and behind the gallery ropes and trying to decide among a 6- or 7-iron and a putter. He decided to putt it.

"The grass is so firm and it's cut so low around the greens that I had more confidence in just whacking at it with a putter," Verplank said.

Verplank nearly holed it out. Leonard then closed it out with a 25-foot birdie on the 18th.

Clark started the round with a 40-footer for birdie on No. 2, and finished it with a 9-footer on No. 18.

"It's nice to always finish your round with a birdie, regardless of what the score is," Clark said.

Clark and Campbell stayed in contention despite not doing well on the par 5s. They had three pars and a bogey.

Flesch, a late replacement for the injured Fred Couples, and Johnson birdied four of the last six holes. Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter survived a triple-bogey on the third hole to finish at 4 under.

The tournament record in the modified alternate shot (used on Friday) format is 57, set by Fred Couples/Raymond Floyd (1990).

After an opening birdie Kelly/Stricker recorded birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie (Nos. 5-9) for an outward nine of 7-under 29. Leonard holed a 25-foot putt from off the green at the final hole to secure a share of the lead.

Kelly/Stricker (tied for fifth in 2008) and Leonard/Verplank (second in 2006) are the only two teams this year who have previously teamed together at the Shark Shootout.

The Kelly/Stricker combination is the only team in this week's field with both players posting victories on the PGA Tour this season. Kelly won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and Stricker posted three victories at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, John Deere Classic and Deutsche Bank Championship.

Kelly won the Shark Shootout in 2006 with Rod Pampling, defeating Leonard/ Verplank in a playoff. 2009 marks the second time Leonard/Verplank have played as a team at the Shark Shootout. They also played foursomes and four-ball together at the 2005 Presidents Cup with a 2-1-1 record.

South African Tim Clark and Texan Chad Campbell managed the windy conditions well to shoot 5-under 67 even though they played the par 5s in 1 over. Both players joined the PGA Tour in 2002 after playing on the Nationwide Tour.

Clark is one of six first-timers at the 2009 Shark Shootout, while Campbell is making his fourth appearance. Campbell came close to victory in 2003 when he teamed with Shaun Micheel, losing a three-way playoff.

Just seven players have won the Shark Shootout in their first attempt: Mark O'Meara (1989), Curtis Strange (1989), Fred Couples (1990), Scott McCarron (1997), Hank Kuehne (2003), Rod Pampling (2006) and Woody Austin (2007). Six players are hoping to join that group this week: Tim Clark, Brian Gay, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, George McNeill and Ross Fisher.

Of the 24 players at the 2008 event, 14 have returned to the Shark Shootout this year.

Ian Poulter (No. 12) and Ross Fisher (No. 18) have a combined Official World Golf Ranking of 30. They teamed to finish tied for fourth for England at the 2009 Omega Mission Hills World Cup, three strokes behind winners Italy.

Poulter and Fisher each won tournaments on different tours on the first day of November this year. Poulter won the Barclays Singapore Open on the Asian PGA Tour, while Fisher prevailed at the Volvo World Match Play on the European Tour.

The team of Rickie Fowler/Chris DiMarco has a combined Official World Golf Ranking of 588 (Fowler is No. 262, DiMarco is No. 326).

Steve Flesch is in good position for an early Christmas present after replacing an injured Fred Couples on Tuesday this week. Flesch and Dustin Johnson are a stroke of the lead at 5-under 67.

Only two teams have defended the title in the 20-year history of The Shark Shootout: Brad Faxon/Scott McCarron (2000-01) and Hank Kuehne/Jeff Sluman (2003-04). But that won't be happening again this year. Last year's winning team of Kenny Perry/Scott Hoch was split up because Hoch is recovering from wrist surgery. Perry partnered with fellow Kentucky native and 2008 Ryder Cup teammate J.B Holmes to post a 2-under 70.

If Perry were to win this week, he would become the fifth player with three wins at the Shark Shootout joining Steve Elkington (1993, 95, 98), Fred Couples (1990, 94, 99), Brad Faxon (1994, 2000, 01), and Scott McCarron (1997, 2000, 01). However, Perry would match Elkington and Couples as the only players to win with three different partners.

Brad Faxon/Matt Kuchar, in the first group of the day, posted back-to-back double bogeys at the first two holes before shooting 2 under on the inward nine for a 1-over 73.

Shark Shootout host Greg Norman was due to make his 21st start in the 21-year event before a slower-than-expected recovery from shoulder surgery stopped him. The players in the field with the most starts after Norman are Mark Calcavecchia (16), followed by Brad Faxon (15), Jeff Sluman (10), Kenny Perry (7), Nick Price (7), Jerry Kelly (5), Justin Leonard (5), Chad Campbell (4), Chris DiMarco (3), Zach Johnson (3), Scott Verplank (3), J.B. Holmes (3), Matt Kuchar (3), Steve Stricker (2), Ian Poulter (2), Graeme McDowell (2), Steve Flesch (2) and Boo Weekley (2).

Calcavecchia is making his 16th appearance at the Shark Shootout, joining Steve Elkington and Peter Jacobsen with the second-most starts behind tournament host Greg Norman (20).

Four players share the record with three wins at the Shark Shootout, including Steve Elkington (1993, 1995, 1998), Fred Couples (1990, 1994, 1999), Brad Faxon (1994, 2000, 2001) and Scott McCarron (1997, 2000, 2001). Faxon is the only one of the four here this week, teaming with Matt Kuchar. The pair shot 73 and are 12th.

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