ATLANTA, GA – Thursday at the TOUR Championship was full of great golf action. Let’s take a look at the birdies and bogeys of Day 1 at East Lake.
BIRDIE: Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay did exactly what he needed to with a first round 67. The round could have actually been several strokes lower. Cantlay burned the edge on several mid-range putts. If he avoids big mistakes and the putter stays warm, he’s got a great chance of going wire-to-wire.
BIRDIE: John Rahm
Rahm got off to the start he needed, going 3-under through six. Bogeys at seven and eight could have derailed him, but a clutch part save on nine seemed to steady his ship. Rahm then blistered the back nine with a 4-under par 31. His opening round 65 put him just 2 behind Cantlay and in the lead group. Rahm looks like the most dangerous player in the field this week.
BIRDIE: Harris English
English made the shot of the day with his hole-in-one on the par-3 15th. It was the first-ever on the hole during a TOUR Championship. And what a shot it was! The 210-yard par three with an island green is easily the most intimidating on the course.
English didn’t stop there, adding birdies at 16 and 17 before narrowly missing his birdie putt on the final hole. His four-under par 66 moved him into a tie for third at 8-under for the tournament.
BIRDIE: Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau actually lost ground with an opening round 69. His strong finish kept him within eyeshot of the leaders, however. After finding the water on 15, DeChambeau made a clutch up and down from the drop zone for a bogey save. He then birdied the final three holes to get into the house in red numbers. That finish could be just what he needs to make a run at the leaders.
BOGEY: Tony Finau
After pars on the first three hole, Finau suffered a double bogey on the par-4 fourth hole. He seemed a little out of form the rest of the day, matching three birdies against three bogeys. He two-over par 72 moved him from solo second to a tie for eighth and from two strokes back to seven.
BOGEY: Patrick Reed
Reed is recovering from double pneumonia and it showed on Thursday. He admitted Thursday that he wouldn’t be in the field this week if it weren’t a Ryder Cup year. The conventional wisdom is that he needs a good week to earn a pick from Captain Steve Stricker. His first-round 72 was not the start he needed.
BOGEY: Hideki Matsuyama
The Masters winner shot an inexplicable 77. The good news? Last place earns $325,000 this week.
Other Highlights:
Sergio Garcia started things off with a bang, eagling the par-4 first hole. Garcia holed his second shot with an 8-iron from 160 yards.
Billy Horschel, one of five players in the field who have a win at East Lake, hit 15 of 18 greens and shot 65. He carded the only bogey-free round of the day.
The scoring average for the day was 68.767
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