Bo Van Pelt started his year missing seven cuts in nine tournaments before his game slowly started to come around over the last month. He felt he was heading in the right direction and received more confirmation Thursday. Van Pelt didn’t make a bogey, and finished strong with a 10-foot birdie putt on the 16th and the eagle on the par-5 17th hole that put him in the lead with a -6 65. Van Pelt is No. 104 in the FedEx Cup. Only the top 100 advance to the next tournament.
Paul Casey is No. 118 with a lot on his mind, specifically the birth of his first child in two weeks and he played bogey-free at Ridgewood to join seven other players at 66.
That group included Brendon Todd, who is trying to get Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson’s attention as a possible wild-card pick; and Hunter Mahan, who at No. 62 is in danger of missing the Tour Championship for the first time since the FedEx Cup began in 2007.
The Ridgewood GC featured some of the deepest rough of the year, though the greens were soft enough to allow for birdies if players could keep it in the fairway. The average score was 70.8, with 44 rounds in the 60s
Rory McIlroy was not among them.
The Open and PGA champion went 13 holes before he made his first birdie and finished with a 74. That ended a streak of 14 straight rounds under par, and it was his highest score in the opening round since a 74 in the Irish Open in June.
Jim Furyk, Charles Howell III, Brendon de Jonge, Ben Martin and Cameron Tringale also were in the group one shot behind.
David Hearn is tied for 32nd after carding 69 in the opening round. Graham DeLaet carded a 7-over 78 and is tied for 121st.
Live scoring click http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
Bryan Angus
(files from AP CP BBC Reuters )
No comments:
Post a Comment