Davis Riley produced a bogey-free opening round to claim a share of the lead alongside Will Gordon after the opening day of the Sanderson Farms Championship on Thursday.
Mississippi-native Riley carded a six-under-par 66 including four birdies in his first seven holes to set the pace at the Country Club of Jackson.
Riley he also holed an 18-foot putt for birdie on the 17th, backing up his birdie on the 16th for a strong opening round.
Gordon, who was among the last to finish on the opening day, came in strong with three birdies in his final five holes. He sunk a 23-foot birdie putt on the ninth.
Seven players are tied at five-under, including tour rookie Brandon Matthews who finished his round with back-to-back birdies to card 67.
Matthews is tied with Andrew Putnam, Kevin Yu, Mark Hubbard, Thomas Detry, Trevor Cone and Christiaan Bezuidenhout, the latter fresh from his Presidents Cup debut.
Among the day's highlights were aces on the fourth hole to Brandon Wu, who is three-under-overall, and M.J. Daffue, who had just double bogeyed the par-five third hole.
Reigning champion Sam Burns carded a bogey-free two-under-par 70, while one of the pre-tournament favourites Denny McCarthy is a further stroke behind after birdieing his final two holes.
Sahith Theegala (one over), Russell Henley (two over) and J.T. Poston (four over) struggled on the opening day, with the latter carding four bogeys and one double bogey in the par-four 12th.
Patrick Rodgers takes a three-stroke lead into the weekend at the Valero Texas Open
At the conclusion of Friday's play at the Valero Texas Open it was Patrick Rodgers leading the field by three strokes, although many are yet to complete their second round.
Rodgers, 30, has never won on the PGA Tour, and has had an up-and-down season up until this point. While he has two top-10s, and a top-15 at the Phoenix Open, he also came into this event with six missed cuts from his past eight starts.
His six-under 66 was one of the best scores from the opening round, and he followed it with a five-under 67 after birdieing five of his last six holes to race out to a healthy lead.
In a tie for second is Canada's Corey Conners, who would be disappointed to shoot even par after his eight-under start. Joining him at eight under is Mexico's Roberto Diaz, who will have his sights set even higher as he was only through 10 holes in his second round before darkness halted play.
American duo Michael Thompson and Brendon Todd (through 15) are at seven under in a tie for fourth, while Belgium's Thomas Detry is joined by veteran Matt Kuchar and rising talent Eric Cole at six under.
Recent winner of The Honda Classic, Chris Kirk, is part of the logjam at five under rounding out the top 10, and Rickie Fowler has finished right on the projected cut-line at one under.
Justin Lower leads from Harrington, Kuchar in weather-interrupted Valero Texas Open first round
Justin Lower leads the Valero Texas Open through nine holes with play suspended due to darkness as Padraig Harrington and Matt Kuchar joined the group one stroke behind on Thursday.
The opening round was called off early in fading light, with play having been delayed numerous times in the morning due to fog in South Texas.
Lower, 33, got through the first half of his round, managing an eagle on the par-five 14th hole along with three birdies for a five under start.
Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, 51, wound back the clock in his 333rd start in his 28th season. The Irishman, playing in familiar conditions, carded a four-under 68 with six birdies.
Fellow veteran Matt Kuchar had a similar round with six birdies and two bogeys for a four-under 68 to be tied for second.
The 44-year-old American and Harrington are alongside South Africa's M.J. Daffue, Mexico's Roberto Diaz and USA's Patrick Rodgers.
Fresh from winning last week's Corales Puntacana Championship, Matt Wallace is in a group of eight players, including Canada's Corey Conners (through nine holes), one stroke behind at three under overall.
Pre-tournament favourite Tyrrell Hatton only got through 10 holes to be two under, while Rickie Fowler and defending champion J.J Spaun were both even after 11 holes.
Port Maria Hospital and Care for Kids Junior Golf to benefit from Sandals Golf and Jerk Festival
The third staging of the Sandals Foundation Golf and Jerk Festival is expected to bring together over 100 of the island’s best golfers competing for Sandals and Beaches Resorts stays and an extraordinary two Hole-In-One bonus prizes of JMD$2million cash and a 2023 Kia Sportage.
Set for the Sandals Upton Estate Golf and Country Club in St. Ann on Saturday, May 6, 2023, the event, which is a fundraiser for the philanthropic arm, will support the Port Maria Hospital and the continued development of the Care for Kids Junior Golf programme.
“This festival reinforces our mandate to not only create opportunities for our young people to thrive through sports but it also connects them to a larger responsibility to give back to those in need,” says Heidi Clarke, Executive Director at the Sandals Foundation.
“With proceeds this year going towards the purchase of security systems for the Port Maria Hospital, we are making a solid investment in ensuring our medical professionals, staff and patients are in a safe and secure environment.”
The jerk competition will see 12 teams of two compete for a grand prize of $50,000 while the golf tournament will take on a four-person scramble with at least one junior player independently chosen or selected from the foundation’s Care for Kids Junior Golf Programme.
“We are proud of our junior golfers who are learning great discipline through the sport and opening avenues to represent Jamaica on the international arena. We want to provide them and other young golfers a place at the table to showcase their skills and compete with the best of the best,” said Clarke.
Already its organizers have accomplished an extraordinary feat pulling in two Hole-In-One prizes with United States based golf and utilities company, Tropicars offering over JMD$4 million cash with a 50/50 split towards the winner and the charities. The second Hole-In-One comes from ATL Automotive with the stunning 2023 Kia Sportage up for the take.
A host of prestigious local partners has also joined the bill including Best Dressed Chicken, CPJ, Rainforest, Starbucks, Wisynco, and AC Hotels.
Registration for Golf Teams is US$500 with a 10 per cent early bird discount up to April 16. Interested Jerk chefs can register at $10,000 per team.
For more information, contact Johnny Newnham This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Natasha Burnett This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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