8:22 a.m.: Just a few groups have teed off thus far at the Barracuda here at Montreux. Kevin Chappell has birdied three of the first five holes and is at 6 points along with Skip Kendall, who has birdied three of his first four.
8:27: Part-time Truckee resident Ricky Barnes is at 4 along with Cameron Beckman and Brendan Steele, who loves the Montreux course.
8:30: This is a great course. A tough one to walk if you’re a spectator. A lot of people like to hang out at one hole which means they get to see everyu player come through. I’m looking for Steele, Romero and Chappell as my top three picks right now.
8:33: Todd Hamilton has strung together back-to-back birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 to get to 4 points
8:51: Kendall and Chappell remain tied at 6. There are 6 golfers at 4 points.
8:52: New leader is Charlie Wi, who has four birdies and a bogey for 7 points. He is now on 18 after starting on No. 10.
9:02: Kendall just birdie the par-3 7th with a 28-foot putt to go to 8 points; Former champ John Rollins has birdied three straight holes to get to 6.
9:02: Weather is absolutely gorgeous. Hardly any wind, and that usually means low scores and a lot of positive points.
9:08: Of all the starters, only seven have negative numbers to this point.
9:12: Geoff Ogilvy has dropped in birdie putts of 15, 5 and 6-feet to get to 6 points after his first six holes. He started his round on No. 10.
11:25: Followed a few groups coming into 9. Brendan Steele got in trouble off the tee and doubled No. 18, a no-no in the modified format. Tim Wilkinso is the new leader at 14 thanks to eight birdies, including 10 through 14. Ogilvy is staying strong with 12 points. Former champ John Rollins is tied for third at 11.
11:30: My self-admitted weakness when i go to events whether it be as a fan or media member is merchandise. I dropped way too much for a Barrcuda Championship golf shirt.
1:20: Can I just say I hate computers. Way too many glitches. Geoff Ogilvy and Tim Wilkinson are tied at the top with 16 points, while Martin Laird is three points back at 13. There is a logjam of three players at 12 ands four players at 11.
1:21: TV broadcast comes on at 3:30 on Golf Channel.
BARRACUDA 2ND DAY UPDATES
6:36: We’re 24 minutes from the first group teeing off, and leader Nick Watney goes off at 7:44. As of now the projected cut is 5 points with 77 players moving on to Saturday, though obviously that could change.
