Notes: Ames, Tway continue Bob Hope tradition

First-round co-leaders Bob Tway (PW) and Stephen Ames (PW) carded matching rounds of 9-under-par 63 Wednesday, marking the seventh straight year the first-round leaders at the Hope finished with a 63. Tway's 63 was his best round since a 62 in the second round of the 2001 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. The 63 was Ames' best round since a 63 in the 2001 B.C. Open.

• Bob Tway's first-round co-lead marks the 14th lead/co-lead of his PGA TOUR career, the most recent being the 2002 Memorial Tournament. Tway has never won an event after holding a first-round lead, his best finishes being second at the 1985 Lite Quad Cities Open and T2 at the 1991 Northern Telecom Open. Stephen Ames (PW) holds the fourth lead/co-lead of his PGA TOUR career after a first-round 63. His most recent lead/co-lead was at The International presented by Quest.

• Dave Stockton, Jr.'s 7-under-par 65 (LQ) was his best first round since a third-round 65 at the 2001 B.C. Open.

• Joe Durant, who won the 2001 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in record-setting fashion, is off to a quick start in 2003. Durant posted back-to-back T7 finishes at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Phoenix Open, his first top 10s since a T10 at the 2001 TOUR Championship. The back-to-back top 10s were the first for Durant since the 2000 Invensys Classic of Las Vegas (T9) and Tampa Bay Classic (T5). One reason for his improved play? Durant is T9 in putting average (1.692) after finishing 191st last year at 1.819. He is also averaging 294.4 yards off the tee after posting a 274.8 average in 2002. Durant (LQ) carded a 5-under-par 67 on Wednesday.

• While there were 18 first-time winners on the PGA TOUR in 2002, look for a veteran in the winner's circle at the 2003 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.. In the 43-year history of the Hope, there have been only three first-time winners at the event: Tom Nieporte (1967), Bill Rogers (1978) and Donnie Hammond (1986).

• Fourteen past champions of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic are competing this week: Mark Brooks, John Cook, Fred Couples, Joe Durant, David Duval, Keith Fergus, Jay Haas, Donnie Hammond, Peter Jacobsen, Steve Jones, Phil Mickelson, Jesper Parnevik, Corey Pavin and Kenny Perry. When Fergus won the event in 1983, the youngest player in this week's field, Aaron Baddeley, was two years old.

• Charles Howell III (LQ) extended his TOUR-best streak of rounds at par or better to 31 on Wednesday with a 1-under-par 71. His streak dates back to the second round of the 2002 Valero Texas Open. Howell also entered the week with 22 bogey-free holes but that streak ended at 24 on his third hole of the day.

• Frank Lickliter II (BD) recorded five straight birdies on holes 9-14. Robert Gamez (IW) had five straight birdies on Nos. 4-8.

• Eight of this year's 30 PGA TOUR rookies are competing this week: Aaron Barber, Alex Cejka, James McLean and Akio Sadakata from PGA TOUR Qualifying School; Aaron Baddeley, Todd Fischer, Patrick Moore and Darron Stiles are Nationwide Tour graduates.

• Ernie Els continues to lead the West Coast Swing presented by The St. Paul with 200 points. But with Els taking the Phoenix Open off last week, Vijay Singh took full advantage, winning the event and earning 100 points in the process. Combined with his T4 finish at the Mercedes Championships, Singh, with 145 points, is now in second place, 55 points behind Els, who still leads. Retief Goosen picked up 45 points for the second time in three weeks to move into third place. The overall points leader at the conclusion of the nine-event West Coast Swing is crowned "King of the Swing" and receives $500,000, part of a $1 million bonus awarded to the participants. Chris DiMarco captured the 2002 West Coast Swing thanks in part to a victory at the Phoenix Open.

• The following players posted the low rounds of the day at the four respective courses: PW: Bob Tway and Stephen Ames (63); IW: John Cook (64); BD: Chris DiMarco (64); LQ: Dave Stockton, Jr., and Shaun Micheel (65). Fifteen scores came in over par for the day. Nine of those came from players competing at LaQuinta Country Club. Spike McRoy (PW) needed only 23 putts on the day en route to a 3-under-par 69 to lead all players in that category.

• Eighteen players did not record a bogey on Wednesday: Bob Tway (PW), Stephen Ames (PW), Chris DiMarco (BD), Matt Gogel (BD), Jonathan Kaye (BD), Esteban Toledo (LQ), Harrison Frazar (PW), Chris Riley (BD), Joe Durant (LQ), Darron Stiles (IW), Bob Burns (IW), Paul Dietsche (BD), Per-Ulrik Johansson (BD), Olin Browne (IW), Dudley Hart (PW), Glen Day (BD), Corey Pavin (IW) and Ben Crane (LQ).

• Rich Beem (IW) had two eagles on Wednesday on Nos. 8 and 18.

• Fulton Allem (LQ) withdrew after 13 holes on Wednesday. Brian Bateman, the first alternate, will substitute in the team portion beginning Thursday.

Note: PW= PGA West
BD= Bermuda Dunes
IW= Indian Wells
LQ= La Quinta