Home–course advantage suits rookie Quinney

0 Comments | USA TODAY, February, 2007 | by Greg Boeck

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Jeff Quinney gets a taste of welcome-home cooking in the FBR Open, which begins today at the TPC of Scottsdale.

The hottest rookie on the PGA Tour not only will sleep in his own bed, just minutes from a course he is well acquainted with, but also bring his old "Sparky" head cover out of mothballs.

"Sparky," the mascot of Arizona State University, where Quinney earned All-America honors and won the 2000 U.S. Amateur, will undoubtedly delight the rowdies at the infamous par-3 16th hole. Most are Arizona State students.

The 28-year-old finance major, who lives at nearby Grayhawk, probably will be greeted with a thunderous "ASU! ASU!" chant when he emerges from the tunnel into the ringed amphitheater at 16.

"I'll embrace...