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FORT WORTH, Texas -- The wiggles, waggles and waves at the golf ball disappeared from Kevin Na's preshot routine Thursday.

That was a major victory for Na, who admitted that all he thought about in the first round of the 2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial was eliminating the superfluous movement that made golf fans everywhere -- not to mention his player partners -- shutter as he slowly and painfully struggled in the final round of The Players Championship two weeks ago.

Na shot even par Thursday. And considering he was 2-over after five holes, Na was pleased he managed to get those two strokes back by the time the day finished. His plodding play to finish The Players a few weeks ago made pace of play back a hot topic in the golf world. As soon as the tournament ended, Na vowed to do something about it.

"That was the only thought I had," Na said. "It wasn't about, 'Oh I need to go work or I need to get rest.' It was, 'I need to change this and this is all I'm going to do and all I'm going to think about and I'm going to get it done.' I'm actually surprised at how quickly I'm doing this."

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FORT WORTH, Texas -- What a difference a year makes for defending Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial champion David Toms.

The Shreveport, La., resident made only one birdie in shooting an opening-round of 4-over 74 on Thursday.

On the way to his 2011 victory at Colonial, Toms tied the tournament first-day scoring record and broke the record for 36 holes with back-to-back 62s.

Toms, who started on the second nine, dunked his tee shot on the par-3 No. 13, his only blemish through his first 13 holes. But he struggled at the end of his round with bogeys on three of his final five holes.

It was only the second time in Toms’ last 11 rounds at Colonial that he failed to break par. He’s missed the cut at this tournament only once, in 1999. He withdrew after one hole due to an injury in 2003.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The only player to win both PGA Tour events in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex was Ben Hogan, who won the Dallas Open (which later became the Byron Nelson) and Colonial in 1946. The tournaments were months apart then, but no one has been able to win both in the same season.

Could Jason Dufner change all of that? He's certainly in position. Dufner shot a 5-under 65 in Thursday's opening round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and is one shot back of Zach Johnson.

Dufner is trying to become the 12th player to win both the Nelson and Colonial, joining a list that includes some big names:

Rory Sabbatini: 2007 (Colonial), 2009 (Nelson)
Sergio Garcia: 2001 (Colonial), 2004 (Nelson)
Phil Mickelson: 2002, '08 (Colonial), 1996 (Nelson)
Nick Price: 1994 (Colonial), 1991 (Nelson)
Bruce Lietzke: 1992 (Colonial), 1981, 88 (Nelson)
Ben Crenshaw: 1977, 90 (Colonial), 1983 (Nelson)
Jack Nicklaus: 1982 (Colonial), 1970, 71 (Nelson)
Roberto DiVicenzo: 1957 (Colonial), 1966 (Nelson)
Ben Hogan: 1946-47, 1952-53, 1959 (Colonial), 1946 (Dallas)
Julius Boros: 1960, 63 (Colonial), 1959 (Dallas)
Sam Snead: 1950 (Colonial), 1945, 1957-58 (Dallas)

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Harris English is making a joke out of course preparation.

On Monday, without the benefit of a complete practice round at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, English fired rounds of 60 and 63 for a four-stroke win in the British Open qualifier.

English used a similar game plan for Thursday’s opening round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and the result was a 5-under 65, good enough for a tie for second with Tom Gillis, Jason Dufner and Kyle Reifers, one shot off the lead of Zach Johnson.

English revealed afterward that his introduction to Colonial was a nine-hole practice round Tuesday. He said he scoped out the second nine, walking it with a wedge and putter.

“My caddie has caddied in this event three times so he knew about the course and how to play it,’’ English said. “I felt we had a good game plan today and I’ll stick to playing aggressive.

“I think sometimes you can overdo looking at golf courses,’’ English added. “And I felt like the way it works for me is, I pick out the good areas to hit it and I don’t really look at the bad areas. I just hit shots off the tee to where I have a comfortable yardage in, and hit it to a place on the green where I can have a comfortable putt. It’s all about playing shots that you know you can play.’’

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Chad Campbell can puff up his chest about his birdie at the par-3 No. 4 at Colonial Country Club.

It was the only birdie of the day on the 244-yard brute.

Only 35 in the 123-player field (28 percent) reached the fourth green in regulation.

Overall, the hole was the fourth toughest in scoring average (3.244) and it would have been worse had it not been playing downwind.

No. 9, a 404-yard par-4 into the wind, played as most difficult in Round 1 at 4.377.

The fourth, in the middle of the three-hole stretch known as the Horrible Horseshoe, plays uphill and Thursday’s pin placement was tucked in the back left corner, guarded by two bunkers that front the green.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Matt Kuchar’s current PGA Tour-leading streak of 18 events without missing a cut could be in jeopardy after shooting a first-round 2-over 72 at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial on Thursday.

Kuchar, the winner two weeks ago at The Players, has made the cut in all 11 of his events in 2012.

In his streak, the consistent Kuchar has six top-10s and 16 finishes in the top 25. Last year Kuchar established a Tour record for the most money won ($4,233,920) without a tournament win.

Among the 83 Round 1 finishers so far, a 2-over score ranks in the middle of the pack, in a tie for 46^th. The first-round average score is 71. Three dozen players remain on the course.

If Kuchar fails to make the cut, Luke Donald, not in the Colonial field this week, would become the leader in consecutive made cuts at 16. Sergio Garcia is next on the list with 15.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- With a familiar face again carrying his bag, 2001 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial champion Sergio Garcia shot a 4-under 66 on Thursday.

Garcia’s hot round coincided with the return of Gary Matthews, who caddied for Garcia for two years until a split last summer. Glenn Murray was on Garcia’s bag at The Players.

“Glenn and I have been going a long time,’’ Garcia said. “We needed a little break. We’ll see what happens.

“Gary’s played the course, so we know what we’re doing. It’s working out well so far.’’

Garcia, who started on the second nine, made putts at No. 10 (17 feet), 11 (12 feet) and 15 (18 feet) and converted a 17-foot eagle putt at the 558-yard No. 1 and. His lone bogey came at No. 3.

“When its windy like this here, you have to hit good solid shots,’’ Garcia said. “If not, you are going to struggle.''

FORT WORTH, Texas -- There's just something about classic courses with tight, tree-lined fairways and small greens that tend to bring the best out of Zach Johnson.

Colonial Country Club did that again for Johnson on Thursday. Johnson had six birdies and no bogeys in the wind in the first round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, taking the lead at 6-under after a 64 that included four straight birdies on the back side.

Johnson on the first page of the leaderboard isn't unsual these days. He's been the runner-up in two of his last three tournaments, including The Players Championship two weeks ago. And when it comes to Colonial, Johnson knows how to manuver his ball around the par-70 course. He won the tournament in 2010, shooting a pair of 64s on the weekend. Thursday's 64 was Johnson's 13th consecutive under-par round at Colonial, where he finished fourth last year.

"I do enjoy it," Johnson said about Colonial. "I do like it a lot. It suits my eye. But you still have to hit it good and you still have to putt it well."

Johnson did both Thursday. He made a 40-footer on No. 10 for birdie and then made a nice save on No. 12, getting up and down from a greenside bunker.

"I hit a quality putt," Johnson said. "And then it led into the next hole and the next hole. I made some nice birdie putts. The par save at 12 was probably the big putt that got me going."

Johnson said he played late on Wednesday when the wind was up, giving him an idea of what certain shots might do when it was blowing.

"I hope it doesn't calm down," Johnson said. "It's what you anticipate. It's Texas. There is nothing stopping the wind. The Colonial, with receptive greens at this heat, they have to keep them somewhat saturated, you needed a defense and the wind is the defense right now. That's just the way it should be."

In other words, Johnson is comfortable playing Texas golf. And he's right back in his familiar spot -- on top of the leaderboard.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- John Daly, in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial field via a sponsor's exemption, bogeyed his final hole to shoot even-par 70 in Thursday’s opening round.

Daly, 46, does not have full playing privileges on the PGA Tour and must rely on exemptions or past champion status for entry.

In six previous Colonial appearances, Daly has been around for all four rounds only once, in 2010 when he finished 66^th.

Daly spent most of the first rounf under par after a birdie on No. 11 (his second hole). He went to 2-under with a 31-foot birdie putt at the par-3 No. 13, but played his final eight holes in 2-over. His approach to his final hole, No. 9, flew 60 yards offline to the right, landing near the practice putting green. He was able to chip to the green and two-putt for a bogey.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Sung Kang, a 24-year-old from South Korea living in Grapevine, Texas, was watching television in the clubhouse at Colonial Country Club when he was told he had 20 minutes to get to the first tee.

Sean O'Hair had a neck inury and was forced to pull out right before his 7:43 a.m. tee time. Kang didn't even have time to go to the driving range.

"I hit a few putts, stretched and played," Kang said.

He shot even par thanks to birdies on Nos. 17 and 18. Despite living in the Dallas area, Kang has only played Colonial once. And that was when he was 15 years old.

"I did all right on it then," Kang said. "It's a nice course. I enjoyed playing it."

He'll tee it up 12:18 p.m. on Friday, playing with Ben Crane and Jim Furyk again. Crane, from Westlake, Texas, birdied the final three holes to get back to even par. Crane had six pars, six birdies and six bogeys.

Furyk was 1-under with 17 pars and one birdie at No. 12.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Chris DiMarco credited a swing tip from 1993 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial champion Fulton Allem for putting him on course for a 4-under 66 in today’s opening round.

“I started hitting the ball right where I was aiming,’’ said DiMarco.

Allem said he noticed that DiMarco’s hips were ahead of his swing.

“Basically, he’s stopped spinning,’’ Allem said. “There was nothing special about it.’’

Allem said he’d like to see DiMarco return to the form he displayed a half-dozen years ago.

“It’s nice to go out and be in control of the golf ball,’’ DiMarco said. “It’s been awhile. I made seven birdies today and I don’t think I made that many in the last three tournaments.’’

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jordan Spieth was at Colonial Country Club this week. But he wasn't teeing it up with the big boys on the PGA Tour. Spieth was a finalist for the Ben Hogan Award and came to Monday evening's banquet.

Spieth talked to Carter Strickland at HornsNation and said he's in no rush to get on Tour. Here's part of Strikland's post:

"I plan on being here in the fall," said Spieth, a freshman at Texas.

Here means Texas. That's where Spieth has spent the last year, moving closer to the spotlight, winning tournaments, propelling his team to the No. 1 ranking in college golf headed into the national championship at Riveria Country Club in Los Angeles next week. Oh yeah, and in his off time, finishing 41st at the Valero Texas Open and not taking home $22,940 because of his amateur status.

"All that will come in time and he knows that," Jordan's father Shawn Spieth said.

Patience and an 18-year-old are an oil and water mix. Money is the match that makes it a floating conflagration that some have so eloquently dubbed a grease fire or John Daly.

Spieth is different. Not because of his talent. Although that talent alone does make him unique. It's because of his approach.

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FORT WORTH, Texas -- None of the options facing Jonathan Byrd were very attractive after a poor tee shot at No. 10 in the first round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Byrd’s tee shot on the narrow 396-yard par-4 came to rest on the side of a dry creek bed about 30 yards right of the fairway and 25 feet below the opposite bank. Around him were rocks and his ball was nestled in a clump of thick grass inside the lateral water hazard line.

He could have taken a one-stroke penalty and drop within two club lengths from the point where the ball crossed the margin of the hazard, no nearer the hole. Or he could have gone to the opposite side of the lateral water hazard and dropped at a spot on the hazard's margin that is equidistant from the hole. But either way, Byrd would have been faced with a cluster of large trees.

So Byrd decided to assume an awkward side-hill stance and take a stab at it -- the kind of a risky move that usually comes back to bite weekend players. But Byrd managed to line the ball far enough to clear the opposite bank before hitting a tree, coming to rest 100 yards from the hole, but, fortunately, with a clear shot. He chipped to the green and got out of it with a bogey, about the best score he could have hoped to make. Byrd followed it with a birdie at the par 5 No. 11 and is 3-over with six holes to play.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Sean O'Hair, who finished tied for 16th at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in 2011, withdrew from the tournament Thursday morning with a neck injury.

Sung Kang replaced him. Kang was one of the few alternates still in Fort Worth when O'Hair withdrew, allowing him to get in despite being ninth on the list.

Stewart Cink withdrew Wednesday night and Gary Christian took his place.

Kang is playing with Ben Crane and Jim Furyk this morning.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Chris DiMarco, who was failed to make the cut in five of his last six events, owns the early lead at 4-under through eight holes in the opening round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Blake Adams and Zach Johnson, the 2010 Colonial champion, are tied for second at 3-under. Soft greens are yielding the early starters a rash of birdie opportunities.

DiMarco, 43, who won the last of his three PGA Tour titles in 2002, opened with a pair of birdies and added another at the difficult 467-yard par-4 No. 5 by holing a 24-foot putt. His fourth birdie of the day came at the par-3 No. 8. DiMarco is playing in this morning's first pairing off No. 1.

2001 Colonial champion champion Sergio Garcia is among a group of seven at 2-under.

The tournament record for low first round is 62 by three players, Patrick Sheehan in 2005 and last year by David Toms and Chez Reavie.