Notebook: Aces are OK in Oregon

Only five of the 312 players in the field are from Oklahoma, but both of the holes in one on Thursday came from Sooners. Also, how elevation changes are affecting the players -- and the range guardians, and how Jeff Coston inspired one of the TOUR's best players.

By John Kim, PGA.com Coordinating Producer

SUNRIVER, Ore. -- Bob Ford seems to deal with pressure just fine. The long-time PGA Head Professional of Oakmont Country Club oversaw operations at his course to get it ready for last week's 107th U.S. Open.

Immediately after the great success there, he flew across the country to make it just in time to tee it up here at the Sunriver Resort for the 40th PGA Professional National Championship. After opening with a bogey, he then got his game together, shooting a 2-under-par 69 that included four birdies on the back nine.

ACES ARE OK: The Sooner State provided some great excitement for Day One of the PGA Professional National Championship. There were two holes-in-one recorded in the first round, both by players from Oklahoma. Of the 312 players in the field, only five hail from Oklahoma.

Kyley Tetley of Broken Arrow, Okla., waited 22 years to post the first hole-in-one in his golf career. Tetley, in his third season as an assistant PGA Professional at The Golf Club of Oklahoma, used a 7-iron to ace the 176-yard third hole. The 34-year-old had scored his first ace in April, playing a casual round at his home club. He finished his opening round Thursday with a 4-over-par 76.

"Things were not going well until I hit that tee shot on the third hole," said Tetley of a bogey on this second hole. "I saw it tracking all the way. It took one bounce and went in. It certainly helped.

"I've been playing golf 22 years and all of a sudden I get two (holes-in-one) this year. It was a good way to start. This is just a tough course."

Fellow Oklahoman Tim Fleming, the PGA Head Professional at Quail Creek Golf and Country Club in Oklahoma City, recorded an ace with a 4-iron at the 205-yard 16th hole on the Meadows Course late in the day.

"Quite honestly, I didn't hit it all that well -- kind of half-chunked it. I was worried it wouldn't carry the bunker in front, but it did," he said. "Where the pin is set, you can't really see it but we all figured it would be an OK shot, not really that close. But my wife was down there, and she saw it go in."

Fleming went on to shoot a 1-under 70.

Coincidentally, both were the second holes-in-one for both players this year.

INSPIRATION FOR GREATNESS: All PGA teachers like to inspire greatness. PGA Professional Jeff Coston of Blaine, Wash. -- the current 2006 Senior PGA Professional champion and owner of the Jeff Coston Golf Academy -- relayed this gem during the youth clinic on Wednesday.

"My first year on the PGA TOUR was 1985. My first tournament that year was the San Diego Open. We had this young 14-year-old sign bearer with our group. Nice kid," he said. "Later, he would say that his experience in that tournament served as an inspiration for him to play on TOUR. I think he probably thought he could beat us right then."

The kid's name? Phil Mickelson.

"I saw him about 10 years after that at a clinic in Phoenix. He actually pointed at me from about 30 yards away and said, 'I know you! You're Jeff Coston. ' "

HOME ON THE RANGE?: Beth Glick and Zach Ely are two local residents who have been put in charge of overseeing the driving range at the Meadows Course at the Sunriver Resort. The task wasn't too difficult, but there was one small issue the two had.

"I don't think the range is big enough," said Ely. "The balls keep flying over the fence and we have to go get them."

The end of the range is located about 300 yards from the practice tee, typically no problem for an elite resort facility. But with the long hitters in this field, the fence is providing no problem to clear.

AIR APPARENT?: One item that has caused some problems for scoring has been the high altitude of Sunriver, Ore., compared to many other areas of the country.

"The thin air can really be an adjustment," said Casey Brozek, the PGA Head Professional at Crystal Lake Country Club in Crystal Lake, Ill. "It's very hard to figure out in a short time.

"I was told to adjust my distances about 10 percent, but I really need to be more specific than that. I had a gap wedge that flew 130 yards -- I typically hit my gap wedge 110 yards -- and my ball flew into a hazard behind the green. With these shallow greens and the wind, distance control is hard enough. But the guesswork about the elevation change, that makes it really tough. It can mean the difference between putting for birdie and recording a triple bogey like I did on that hole."

Brozak went on to card a 77 at the more difficult Crosswater Course.

OPEN REBOUND: Mike Small and Frank Bensel were the only two players in the field who also competed in last week's U.S. Open. Small, the 2005 PGA Professional National Champion, recorded a strong 2-under par 70 at the difficult Crosswater layout, while Bensel shot a 3-over 74 at the Meadows Course.