Kokrak’s 68 has him tied with many for 31st place

Staff/wire report

LA QUINTA, CALIF.

A little extra time off this winter left David Toms and Camilo Villegas feeling fresh for the Humana Challenge.

Toms and Villegas shot 9-under 63 to top a leaderboard dotted with impressive scores in the opening round Thursday.

Ted Potter Jr., Sang-moon Bae, Brandt Snedeker and Bob Estes were one stroke behind in postcard-perfect weather on the pro-am tournament’s three generous Palm Springs-area courses.

Villegas and Toms both played bogey-free at the erstwhile Bob Hope Classic, which has dropped one day of its traditional five-round format this year.

Thirty-four golfers tied for 31st — one of them is Warren’s Jason Kokrak.

The Warren JFK graduate shot a 4-under 68 in the tournament’s first round and sees himself knotted up along with Rory Sabbatini, Zach Johnson and Chris DiMarco.

“I felt good out there,” Kokrak said. “I didn’t drive the ball particularly well, but I had some nice shots to put me in a good position to finish with a nice round.”

Breaking out of the sizeable pack isn’t necessarily on his mind — he’s focused on himself.

“You can’t shoot for a score,” Kokrak said. “You have to take it shot by shot and take advantage of what you give yourself and what the course gives.

“There’s a lot of birdies to be made out there and the more chances you give yourself, you’ll get those low scores.”

Kokrak says his putter has been holding him back. That was the case on holes 12 and 13 when he three putted for back-to-back bogies and a par 4 and 5, respectively.

“That put a damper on the round,” he said.

But it wouldn’t be long before he could hold his head up walking to the locker room.

Kokrak eagled the 18th hole, a par five.

“I hit a really good four iron after an OK drive up to the 18th green,” Kokrak said. “I left myself a pretty close put and was able to convert it rather easily.”

He will tee off this morning with the same pairing as Thursday, although a new member may be added to the group.

“I heard Dr. J [Julius Erving] is coming along with us,” Kokrak said. “There’s been a few celebrities around the course and that’s what’s fun about these pro-ams.

“He’s a legendary basketball player, but he’ll kind of be stepping onto my court for the round.”

After playing on the winning U.S. team in the Presidents Cup, Toms passed on a hard-to-get spot in the lucrative Chevron World Challenge in December to spend extra time with his family. He shook off an unimpressive start to the new season in Hawaii with excellent play alongside Presidents Cup teammate Phil Mickelson at La Quinta Country Club, which features the tournament’s toughest course.

Toms also got a boost playing alongside Mickelson, who struggled to a 74. Toms made a 30-foot birdie putt on the sixth hole right after Mickelson holed an eagle putt, ratcheting up the energy in an often staid tournament.

“That’s probably the biggest crowd I’ve ever had playing golf here,” Toms said.