Two share lead at Frys.com Open

John Mallinger and Doug LaBelle II shot 7-under-par 63s to take the opening-round lead Thursday in the Frys.com Open at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.

Slideshow: Frys.com Open

Richard Johnson (no 'S.’) makes name for self

Mallinger and LaBelle both birdied the final hole of the day, the par-4 ninth on the Raptor Course, to get to the top of the leaderboard.

Richard Johnson (64) is one shot back heading into today’s second round.

Mallinger and LaBelle are looking for their first PGA Tour victories. Mallinger has secured his playing privileges for next year. LaBelle is currently 169th on the money list and needs to move up quickly into the top 125 if he wants to play on the PGA Tour next season as an exempt player.

Both players made eight birdies to just one bogey.

“It’s fun to make a lot of birdies and you’re going to have to make some here to win,’’ LaBelle said.

It’s also good to be pain-free, which is the case for Arron Oberholser, who finished near the top of the leaderboard. A year’s worth of aches in his left wrist is finally gone and now Oberholser can play golf again, the way he’d like to play golf.

At 5-under-par 65 has put Oberholser in the thick of things in his own backyard. It’s a position he hasn’t seen in over a year, thanks to an injury that wouldn’t go away.

Now, two surgeries later, he’s back in his own environment, hoping the long layoff won’t have lingering effects. This is only the 10th tournament of the year for Oberholser, who returned from the wrist surgery just last week to play in Las Vegas. Prior to that the last time he’d played was the first week of July.

“It shows me that I can take some time off and have two surgeries within nine months and still play at a high level,” Oberholser said. “And it shows me that the surgeries went very well because I’ve had zero pain and no issues.”

Before the injury, Oberholser was becoming one of the top players on the PGA Tour. In 2006 he earned his first victory at the AT&T National at Pebble Beach and his combined earnings in 2006-07 is over $4.4 million.

He tried to play through the pain earlier this year, when he started to change his swing because of the pain he needed help.

“I couldn’t take it anymore,” Oberholser said.

FRYS.COM OPEN
When: Today through Sunday
Where: Grayhawk Golf Club, Scottsdale
TV: 1 p.m., Golf Channel

FRYS.COM OPEN AT A GLANCE
Leader: John Mallinger and Doug LaBelle II fired rounds of 7-under-par 63 to take a one-shot lead into today’s second round at the Frys.com Open. Mallinger is coming of a week in which he finished tied for third at Justin Timberlake’s tournament in Las Vegas
Moving up: An eagle on the short, par-4 15th hole helped Kevin Sutherland to a fabulous finish on the back nine at Grayhawk. Sutherland was 4-under par on the last five holes of the Raptor Course, including the eagle, which came when he holed a 24-yard pitch shot. Sutherland finished the day at 3-under-par 67.
Moving out: Kevin Stadler didn’t exactly finish Thursday’s first round in style. The Scottsdale resident played his last six holes in 10-over par and shot 81. The six-hole stretch included four double bogeys and two bogeys.
The defender: Mike Weir, the 2007 champion of this event is lurking near the leaders. The Canadian had a round of 66 and is in tied for 10th.
Key second-round pairings: 7:18 a.m.: Mike Weir, Aaron Baddeley, Tim Herron; 12:21 p.m.: Bill Haas, Robert Garrigus, Pat Perez.; 8:02 a.m.: John Mallinger, Peter Lonard, Robert Gamez.