Kelly indulges in a little work, a little play in Puerto Rico

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RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico --With a last name like his, maybe it's the luck of the Irish this week for Jerry Kelly, who opened up the first round -- ever -- of the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular with a 5-under-par 67. Or maybe it's just the warm weather in these parts.

Jerry Kelly felt his first round in Puerto Rico was solid. (Gross/WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

Kelly in 2008

Event Finish Sony Open in Hawaii 3 Buick Invitational Cut FBR Open Cut Northern Trust Open Cut WGC-Accenture Match Play T33 The Honda Classic T20 PODS Championship T30 Arnold Palmer Invtational Cut

The Wisconsin native came to the Trump International Golf Club this week for two things -- work and play. While the Badger State is expecting 1-3 inches of snow on Friday, Kelly and his family are enjoying the Caribbean sunshine for some seasonal R&R.

"It's spring break. I brought my family down here to a nice island in Puerto Rico to play golf," he said.

"I'm not really worrying about the implications of points, half points, the 'you might as well not go this week and go next week' -- I don't look at it like that. This is my job."

And as far as new events at new courses go, Kelly has no beef with this one.

"You put a tournament on an island, and I'll be there," he said, his face slightly rosy from the sun. If he keeps up his steady play throughout the weekend, Kelly might have more than a little island living to be happy about.

With only one bogey on the course during Thursday's blustery opening round, Kelly carved himself a nice score to build upon.

"I played solidly. I hit the ball pretty well," he said. After missing the cut last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a strong start should have Kelly feeling confident again.

A little inconsistent so far this season, Kelly has only made four cuts in eight starts, but those events he did play through the weekend went in his favor. He came in third at the Sony Open in Hawaii and tied for 20th at The Honda Classic. In fact, a tie for 33rd at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play has been his worst finish this year.

However, despite Kelly's good first-round performance, he knows challenges are yet to come with this course. The wind gusts he experienced Thursday will make many players struggle and will likely continue through Sunday. The players got a little help with well-placed pins, but after seeing the low scores carded, Kelly says that will change.

"I think they set it up well for the wind," he said. "They [golf balls] can really get caught up by the wind and not make it to the fairway, but I think they'll start tucking the pins over the weekend."

Kelly didn't seem too worried though, as he expressed how pleased he was with his handling of the tropical gusts so far. Besides, he has other things to think about. With March Madness tipping off Thursday, too, Kelly has one eye on the course and one eye on his bracket as he roots for his No. 3 seed Wisconsin Badgers to get past Cal State-Fullerton Thursday night. Whether they can advance further than that, he's not sure, but he's got North Carolina going all the way.

Whatever happens to the Badgers in the Big Dance will just be another piece of Wisconsin sports news for Kelly to chew on after the announcement of Brett Favre's retirement from the NFL two weeks ago. The longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback has fans all over the country, cheeseheads or not, and Kelly is one of them.

"He's retired on his own terms," Kelly said. "And that's always the best thing to see one of the best athletes of his time do.

"It hurt him not to compete, but he said it was getting really hard for him to put the time and effort into the preparation that you have to do at that level, and I understand where his head's at," the two-time TOUR winner explained.

Kelly believes no NFL quarterback is ever going to be able to do what Favre has done and that it would have been a shame if he had returned in 2008 and suffered injury, ruining his streak.

As an athlete, Kelly knows that's a decision everyone in sports has to face once they reach a certain point in their career. While golf is no exception to that rule, at least the playing time is usually a little longer. After all, Jack Nicklaus did win his last major at age 46, and this week's event celebrations centered on Chi Chi Rodriguez, a 72-year-old champion who was still competing in tournaments as recently as last year.

Kelly may be three years Favre's senior, but he doesn't have that decision to face just yet. For now, whether it's in the snow or the sun, it's still a little bit of work and a little bit of play for Kelly.