PONT VIDERA BEACH, FL – Tommy Fleetwood narrowly certified for the Gamers Championship after which endured an extended, moist begin at TPC Sawgrass with a 6-under 66 to share the early lead with Pebble Seaside winner Tom Hogg.
The place that leaves them after the opening spherical can take time to find out.
The PGA Tour loved good climate with no delays for 9 weeks in 4 states throughout 5 time zones to begin the 12 months. After which in her first event, she barely began.
Greater than an inch of nighttime rain delayed the beginning by an hour. Storms within the space brought on one other delay of greater than 4 hours.
Fleetwood, a Ryder Cup star in Paris in 2018 and two years since his final win, got here again from an extended delay to finish a three-bird streak in a row across the flip after which held his spherical with two large hits, one for the bonus and one for the birdie.
Hoge had an eagle on his par-5 gap, which is 11 of the spherical, and he shot a 31 on the entrance 9 to hitch him within the membership at 66.
Keith Mitchell was prepared to hitch in till his method on the 18th was to the precise of the flag and landed on a really tough slope within the hills, failing to take care of a par. He was 67 years outdated, together with Riviera winner Joaquin Niemann, Anirban Lahiri and Kramer Hickok.
The stop-and-go nature could also be limitless.
Forecasts referred to as for a barely decrease likelihood of rain on Friday – 99% as a substitute of 100% – and there was an opportunity those that completed the tour would not see the cycle once more till Saturday.
Six gamers from the primary aspect of the lot usually are not completed, which suggests they will be again at 7:15 Friday morning to play a gap or two earlier than getting the remainder of the day. Twelve gamers by no means hit the tee throw.
Ian Poulter can relaxation straightforward, even when his coronary heart fee takes some time. The 46-year-old may really feel the horn about to make a screeching sound hanging out taking part in for the darkish. In accordance with the rule, gamers can end the opening began by anybody within the group.
Poulter was on the tee in 17-par-3, the island inexperienced with a pin again and tender inexperienced, when he fired his shot and barely noticed it land 4 toes from the cup. He ran all the way in which to the inexperienced, drilled a jumper, ran via the tunnel beneath the bleachers and onto tee quantity 18. He hit his tee when the group in entrance of him cleared the green.
He did the identical factor 11 years in the past.
Even with solely 66 gamers finishing the spherical, this was sufficient time for the stadium to supply its share of pleasure and spills, a lot of the latter.
Harold Varner III, who wanted good outcomes to remain within the prime 50 and his victory in Saudi Arabia paid off with a visit to the Masters, had a two-piece lead when he climbed to seventeenth. His shot circled sharply down the slope, throughout the tough minimize of sunshine and into the water. His subsequent shot from the drop zone virtually did the identical. He made a triple bogey, took one other shot on the 18th and shot 69.
“I used to be simply between golf equipment and also you did not take the shot, which is what you get a whole lot of right here,” Varner mentioned.
Amazingly, that was the one ball within the water out of 69 hits on a tee.
No have to say that to Adam Scott. The previous Gamers Champion pumped two tee pictures into the water from tee quantity 18 and took a quad bogey on his technique to 78.
Fleetwood has motive to be joyful simply to take the time to play. He missed out on the Honda Basic and stayed narrowly inside the highest 50, which is among the standards for gamers.
For essentially the most half, the gameplay was secure and regular, removed from good despite the fact that Sawgrass hardly ever asks for it. He was 6 beneath 14 holes when he hit a wilderness engine within the pine straw to the precise of the sixth fairway, making a bogey.
He was additional to the precise on the seventh, however an excellent blocking from behind the inexperienced prevented him from dropping one other shot, then he drilled a 25-foot jumper in eighth.
“I am upset to be on this rating,” Fleetwood mentioned. “I felt like I used to be driving the ball rather well away from a pair, and I felt like I broke the ball fairly cool. Positive, that was essentially the most I may get out of the position. So days like this have been a whole lot of enjoyable.”
Lengthy. moist. However passable.
