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For as much emphasis as there is on the bottom of the money list, Wi was in the middle. He is 45th on the money list. He usually plays some of the Fall Series, but spent three weeks in Asia.
What motivates the 40-year-old is winning, which he hasn't managed to do in his previous 183 starts on the PGA Tour. Wi holed a 15-foot eagle putt on No. 7, chipped in from just off the ninth green and wound up with a 64.
Winning is the goal, as always. It would be particularly timely at Disney, not only as the last event of the year but it might be enough for Wi to get into the top 30 on the money list and earn a trip to Augusta National for the first time. And yes, he's aware of that.
"Top 30 is definitely a goal," Wi said. "I'm not just showing up to play. You've got to have goals. I at least want to give myself a chance."
Gainey doesn't have that opportunity. He was so far down the money list when he won at Sea Island that even a win at Disney wouldn't be enough for him to get into the Masters. That didn't stop him from opening with another solid round.
"My goal is just to win, anyway," he said. "The way I'm playing right now, keep hitting the golf shots and keep hitting it in the fairways, and with the way I'm rolling this putter, it's going to be good by Sunday afternoon."
Brian Harman, Scott Stallings and Russell Knox, the rookie from Scotland who is outside the top 150, were at 66. Kevin Chappell, at No. 123 on the money list, overcame an early bogey and was in the group at 67.
"I feel like if you give me enough opportunities, which I've had, I've got to play well at least one week," Chappell said. "If it's the last week of the year, that's great."
The first two days of Disney are a pro-am, and it's common for some players to ask to be paired with friends -- Mike Weir and Dean Wilson, Harris English and Harman. A year ago, the tour put Luke Donald and Webb Simpson in the same group as they battled for the money title.
This year is a little different.
Rod Pampling is at No. 124 on the money list. He was paired with Billy Mayfair, who is at No. 125. Right behind them were Gary Christian and Alexandre Rocha, who are at No. 127 and No. 128 and right in the mix to keep their jobs.
Pampling opened with a 70 and Mayfair a 72. Christian and Rocha each had a 71.
"I was a bit surprised by that," Pampling said, grinning. "We're all grinding. ... You don't need the guys right behind you and next to you. But that's OK. Billy is easy to play with. And it's not going to change anything, anyway."
[Associated
Press;
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