Greensboro, NC – Kyle Dobbs of Tequesta, FL burst out of the gates on the 2009 eGolf Professional Tour with a win at the season-opening FairwayStyles.com Open. No one was more surprised by that victory than Dobbs, who had spent the prior 360 days recovering from a freak back injury sustained while trying to change a light bulb. As with any full recovery, occasional ups are greeted with frequent downs, and Dobbs' play began to reflect the latter. Back-to-back T26 finishes followed the win, and then a streak of missed cut, made cut, missed cut, made cut set in. Finally, after three missed cuts in his prior five starts, a light clicked on for Dobbs with a first-round 65 in last week's Southern Open. A first-round 64 in this week's Forest Oaks Classic kept the good vibes going for Dobbs, who summed up his improved play with the simplest of lines.

"I hit it in play rather than in the trees – that always helps."

Dobbs began his first round of the inaugural Forest Oaks Classic at Forest Oaks Country Club in Greensboro, NC. Beginning on the back nine of the former PGA TOUR venue, Dobbs pared his first two holes before deciding the time was right to take over.

"I actually started off slow with a three-putt par on the par-5 11th, but then I hit it to a foot on No. 12 and it was off to the races," said the former Michigan Wolverine golfer.

The races did in fact begin shortly thereafter.

A birdie at the par-3 13th sparked a fire that resulted in birdies at Nos. 15, 16 and 17. After making the turn at 5-under 31, Dobbs pared his first three before getting the putter hot again with an eagle at the par-5 fourth.

"I just had a perfect rescue club into the fourth and was able to make the curling putt. I played that hole well."

A follow-up birdie three holes later at the par-4 seventh took Dobbs to 8-under on his round, where he would later finish to seize a one-shot lead over Brian Anderson (Jupiter, FL) and Scott Brown (North Augusta, SC) through 18 holes.

Ironically, for Dobbs, the fast start was the result of patience and determination with his health, and with his game.

"I was off for a few weeks in June and just started working on a lot of things, changing a lot of equipment," said Dobbs. "The biggest change was that I began working with a new physical therapist, Dr. Eric Roberts. I've been in the gym three times a day for the past five weeks, working on strength, flexibility and aerobics."

Slowly, Dobbs is beginning to regain the form he had prior to the injury, but he of all people knows that the marathon is the path better traveled – not the sprint.

"I was playing good golf when I got injured. When I came back, I had the mindset, but the body wasn't there. You just keep working hard because that's all you can do."

Anderson and Brown trail Dobbs by a single shot heading into Thursday, where Anderson will play Forest Oaks and Brown will play High Point Country Club's heralded Willow Creek course, co-host of this week's event.

Anderson's 7-under 65 was the day's low round at Willow Creek, but it was certainly no surprise after back-to-back top-10 finishes earlier this year at the Bushnell Championship and the Snap Fitness Open. Those finishes were backed up by a T18 effort at the Walnut Creek Championship, where Anderson dropped a 9-under 62 in the second round, thus proving low rounds were not something he's afraid of.

For Brown, an opening-round 65 at Forest Oaks is more of the same for a player Las Vegas would lay as the heavy favorite week in, week out if gambling on eGolf Tour events was legal. In 21 rounds played this year on tour, Brown has failed to shoot par or better only four times. In seven starts, the former USC-Aiken star has three top-10 finishes including a win at the Bushnell Championship in April.

Seven players sit two shots behind Dobbs after opening with rounds of 6-under 66 on Wednesday. Chad Wilfong, Will Claxton and Chris Epperson recorded 66s at Willow Creek, while Jay Haas Jr., Todd Murphy and former PGA TOUR player Matt Hendrix turned in their 66s at Forest Oaks. Wilfong, who played his college golf at nearby Wake Forest University, won the 2001 North Carolina Amateur at Willow Creek.

In an odd twist, the Forest Oaks Classic features a tie to the tour's fourth Nationwide Tour exemption this year, with the low participating player receiving a spot in the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper on August 13-16. The tour's first two spots were granted by the BMW Charity Pro-Am in May. Who won those two spots? None other than Kyle Dobbs and Scott Brown. Apparently they are eager to return to the Nationwide Tour.

Second-round play in the Forest Oaks Classic will begin at 8:00 AM on Thursday morning at both Forest Oaks and Willow Creek. After the completion of 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 70 players and ties, with Friday's final round being contested at Forest Oaks. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.