SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A breezy afternoon wind swept through Panther Creek Country Club on Thursday.
It was no match for Charlie Saxon from the windswept lands of Oklahoma.
The Tulsa native birdied the first three holes and then reeled off four in a row on the back nine en route to 10-under-par 61 in the first round of the Lincoln Land Championship for a two-stroke lead over Vincent Whaley.
“I got off to a great start,” Saxon said. “I think I birdied my first three and feeling good. I had some great swings to start the day. I felt good with the putter and I just kept hitting good golf shots.”
“It wasn’t my goal to shoot 59. I was just trying to hit good shots. I’m thrilled with a 61,” he added.
Saxon said he once scored a 59 in a practice round but this was his personal best in professional play. The University of Oklahoma graduate has two top-10 finishes this year and is ranked 51st in the Korn Ferry Tour points standings.
But Saxon said it was a largely uneventful day, no small thanks to his driver soaring long distances and cheating over doglegs. He had four straight birdies beginning on No. 10 until he lipped out a birdie attempt on the par-3 15th.
Dirty Meadow: Four pro golfers all live in the same house
Charlie Saxon (@CSaxGolf) has recorded three sub-65 scores in the past month.
Including Thursday's opening-round 61 @LincolnLandGolf.
He leads by two @PantherCreekCC. pic.twitter.com/1oyzhuZRJN
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) September 4, 2020
“I drove it really well,” said Saxon, who was sporting an OU belt buckle. “That’s the key out here. If you’re driving it well and hitting the fairway and giving yourself a lot of wedge opportunities, yeah it felt great with the driver. I was able to cut a few corners with the wind how it was. Maybe a few holes played a lot shorter than I guess they’re supposed to be.
“It’s golf. Sometimes everything goes in your favor. When one of those days happens, you just got to keep it rolling.”
Saxon overtook Whaley, a Georgia Tech grad, who began the tournament with 2018 tournament champion and fellow Yellow Jacket Anders Albertson.
Whaley didn’t get any course tips, but he did acquire Albertson’s old caddie, Michael Hinds, from the 2018 victory.
“When he won, Michael was on his bag,” Whaley said. “So he knows the course well. I played well here last year, but it was a good grouping, it was fun.”
How much did the caddie contribute to the strong start?
“I’m sure he thinks so,” Whaley said. “I don’t know. He’s great. He helps me the whole time. Nothing in particular, just trusting him.”
Whaley started 3-under after the front nine and later knocked down a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th.
“It was pretty clean,” Whaley said. “I didn’t hit it overly close, it was just one of those rounds where I kept getting reads from my playing partners all day so I knew where a lot of putts were breaking and I was able to get them to drop.
“My eagle putt on 16, that was a nice 30-footer after Anders gave me a perfect read. A lot of good putts, nothing bad.”
Thursday’s wind didn’t start picking up until the middle of the day.
“Having the first tee time off was great, I haven’t had that in a long time,” Whaley said. “I’m usually last off. That was very nice. We didn’t have a ton of wind until the last four or five holes and I think it’s going to continue to be windy all day.”
Ryan Brehm and Ben Kohles finished the round tied at 6 under for third place.
Whaley has appeared on the PGA Tour this year, finishing as high as 29th place at January’s The American Express in La Quinta, California.
Whaley said his swing is now starting to feel better since the quarantine.
“It’s been a lot of ups and downs but I feel better with where my game is at right now.”
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