Zurich Classic round one: Expect Chattanooga Choo-Choo to hit the buffers

David Toms was moaning about the length of the course after his modest first round effort Thursday. If he glanced at the stats he would see he’s in good company. Our two leaders were barely able to get their measured drives over 270 yards and third-placed Tim Petrovic couldn’t even make that - he ended up just a few feet better off than Toms.

Hitting greens and fairways looked to be the vital ingredients, although Toms should spend some time on the putting green. Kyle Reifers hit 11 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens in regulation to take the lead with a course record 64 (which sounds good, but there have only been five rounds on the course so far). This is where we all start singing Chattanooga Choo-Choo, because not only is Reifer the winner of last year’s Nationwide Tour event there, but Jason Schultz in third place won the same event the year before. Woo-woo!

A glance at Reifer’s record this season suggests he will struggle to stay on top, even in this poor field. This is only his third round in the 60s this season and his last, a 67 at Houston, was followed by a 75.

But what a season Mark Calcavecchia is having: one victory already and three other top tens - he even managed 20th at the gruelling Masters. Small wonder he is now second favourite at just over 8. The honour of top dog in the market goes to Lucas Glover, three shots off the pace. Like Petrovic, he obviously likes the course enough to suspend his recent poor run.

Things should bunch up a bit Friday, so we could still see Toms joining the fray. I just wish I could get more excited about it or that anyone could get more excited for that matter. There’s precious little punter interest and some commentators sound as if they have lost the will to live.