Tag: Russell Knox

Here are 7 players who missed the 4-under cut at the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson

These players are headed home two days early.

It’s time for the weekend at the AT&T Byron Nelson in McKinney, Texas, and that means some in the field are packing their bags.

The 36-hole cut at TPC Craig Ranch came in at 4 under, which makes sense due to its score-ability. K.H. Lee won the last two Byron Nelsons with scores of 26 under and 25 under. Lee made the cut right on the number this time around.

Through the first two days, Texas local Scottie Scheffler holds the lead at 14 under after consecutive 64s. He leads Ryan Palmer and Mackenzie Hughes by a shot.

Here are seven players who missed the 4-under cut at the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson.

Facing uphill challenge, Russell Knox gets in position at Valero Texas Open to earn Masters invite

“I would love to win and get to play next week, that’s obviously why I’m here.”

Russell Knox knows he has to win the Valero Texas Open to earn an invitation into next week’s Masters.

A tall order, indeed.

Sort of like climbing Mount Everest, if you will, considering how tough it is to win, period, and considering his history in the event. He missed his last three cuts at the Valero and his best finish in six starts was a tie for 26th.

And the Scot hasn’t won since the 2018 Irish Open and hasn’t tasted victory on the PGA Tour since the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, his second title.

So, of course, Knox, ranked 169th in the official world rankings, went out and shot a bogey-free, 7-under-par 65 Thursday in the first round on the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio. It was the first time in 19 rounds he’s broken 70 in the event.

“Obviously thrilled with the round,” Knox said. “I took care of business off the tee, which was nice. Obviously, this course, if you get offline, it can be very penal. So I drove the ball well, iron play was solid again and just a couple of those good luck moments starting the round kind of got my momentum nice.”

Those would include a chip-in on the seventh and superb up-and-downs on the sixth and ninth holes.

“Those were kind of the key parts that allowed me to kind of settle into the back nine and have some easier birdies,” Knox said.

As the afternoon wave began play, Knox was the leader in the clubhouse. While he’s taken a significant fall in the world rankings from a career-high rank of 18th in 2017, he’s played well of late – a tie for sixth in The Players Championship and a tie for seventh in the Sony Open in Hawaii this year.

“It’s been more kind of the way I want to play golf. I’ve been a little more consistent tee to green. I’m back to kind of feeling like the way I should be playing, which has been nice,” he said. “Sometimes when you’re putting in work and you don’t get results, it’s very demoralizing. But it’s nice, I’ve practiced hard and I’m starting to see some benefits.”

And he has an envied temperament.

“I would love to win and get to play next week, that’s obviously why I’m here,” said Knox, who missed the cut in 2016 and 2017 in his only Masters appearances. “I know my game is good so I’ve got to keep playing and see if I can have a great finish. It would be the biggest bonus of the year, obviously, if that happened, but no, I’m quite happy to sit on the couch with my dog next week, too.

“But I mean, I’m going to try my hardest to finish first this week.”

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Joel Dahmen, Pat Perez among sleeper picks to win the 2022 Valspar Championship

Among all the big names, there are several sleepers to keep an eye on in Tampa.

After a wild week in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, at the Players, the PGA Tour heads to Tampa for the Valspar Championship.

Sam Burns enters the week as the defending champion and sits at +2000.

Despite a late finish at TPC Sawgrass, some of the best players in the world are still in the field to tee it up at the Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort.

Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland, and Collin Morikawa all sit at +1000 to win.

Despite numerous big names, there are several players further down the odds list that have a great chance of hoisting the hardware come Sunday afternoon (or at least we can hope it’ll be Sunday afternoon).

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2022 Valspar Championship odds, key statistics, best bets and PGA Tour picks

With a T-16 and solo fifth in his two appearances at Copperhead, can Abraham Ancer claim another Tour title?

It’s not going to be easy for the 2022 Valspar Championship to follow up the madness that was the Players Championship. Rain delays, a Monday finish and a dramatic final stretch down 18 — it’s going to be nearly impossible.

However, there’s a strong field headed to the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort just outside of Tampa, Florida, that includes Dustin Johnson, who’s right off the heels of tying the tournament scoring record of 63 at the Players.

On Tipico, three players sit as co-betting favorites: Justin Thomas, Viktor Hovland, and Collin Morikawa (+1000).

Sam Burns, who played with eventual champion Cameron Smith and Paul Casey in the penultimate group in Ponte Vedra Beach, enters the week as the defending champion. His odds to win sit at +2000.

Key statistics

Driving accuracy: The Copperhead Course is the definition of tree-lined, so finding the short grass off the tee will be imperative for every player in the field.

Data Golf Information

Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. The Concession Golf Club (home of 2021 WGC-Workday), 2. Muirfield Village Golf Club (home of the Memorial), 3. TPC Twin Cities (home of the 3M Open)

Trending: 1. Viktor Hovland (last three starts: T-4, T-2, T-9), 2. Justin Thomas (T-8, 6, T-33), 3. Matthew Fitzpatrick (T-10, T-9, MC)

Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Justin Thomas (8.4 percent), 2. Viktor Hovland (7.9 percent), 3. Collin Morikawa (5.7 percent)

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Betting odds

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds a full list.

Player Odds
Justin Thomas (+1000)
Viktor Hovland (+1000)
Collin Morikawa (+1000)
Dustin Johnson (+1300)
Paul Casey (+2000)
Louis Oosthuizen (+2000)
Tyrrell Hatton (+2000)
Sam Burns (+2000)
Xander Schauffele (+2000)
Jason Kokrak (+3000)

Betting card for the 2022 Valspar Championship

Last week’s results: Players Championship

Daniel Berger – Top 20: Cash (+155)
Brooks Koepka – Top 20: Miss (MC)
Cameron Smith – Top 20: Cash (+170)
Matthew Fitzpatrick – Top 20: Miss (MC)
Rory McIlroy – Top 20: Miss (T-33)

Outrights: Collin Morikawa (MC), Rory McIlroy (T-33), Daniel Berger (T-13), Cameron Smith (1), Brooks Koepka (MC), Will Zalatoris (T-26)

+.25 units on positions plays, +26 units on outrights at Players.

+18.69 units on position plays in 2022. +37.5 units on outright plays in 2022.

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Lucas Glover, Cameron Young among sleeper picks for the 2022 Honda Classic

Will the Genesis Invitational runner-up raise the hardware at PGA National?

After seeing one of the most loaded fields we’ll have all season long last week at the Genesis Invitational, the group of players teeing it up at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Flordia, in a few days may be underwhelming.

However, that may open the door for an underdog to come out of nowhere and steal a win.

2020 Honda Classic winner and king of the Florida swing, Sungjae Im, enters the week as the betting favorite at +1200 followed closely by local man Daniel Berger at +1500.

Let’s start the list with one of the runner-ups from last week at Riviera Country Club.

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Five sleeper picks for Honda Classic

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds a full list.

Cameron Young (+6000)

Genesis Invitational 2022
Cameron Young hits from the eighteenth tee during the second round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Young has never played in the Honda Classic, however, he’s been rounding into form over the last few weeks. Aside from his T-2 finish at the Genesis Invitational, he tied for 26th at the WM Phoenix Open the previous week and signed for a T-20 at the Farmers.

Of the players in this field, over his last 12 rounds, Young is 3rd in SG: Ball-striking and 1st in SG: Off the Tee.

Russell Knox (+6000)

Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Russell Knox of Scotland talks with his caddie, former PGA Tour pro Willy Wilcox, while waiting to tee off on the ninth hole of the first round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course on October 28, 2021, in Southampton. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

Knox has not had success at PGA National in recent years with four of his last five appearances ending in missed cuts. However, from 2014-16 he had two top threes and a top 30.

He’s played well so far in 2022 with a T-7 at the Sony Open and three straight T-33 finishes in his last three starts.

Lucas Glover (+7000)

Lucas Glover hits his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii golf tournament at Waialae Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

This is a man who has loved PGA National over the past several years. In his last five appearances at the Honda, Glover has four finishes of 21st or better, including a top five in 2019.

His last four starts on Tour: T-5, T-33, MC, 37. In a weaker field, he should be able to rise to the top.

Sam Ryder (+10000)

WM Phoenix Open 2022
Sam Ryder hits his tee shot on the 16th hole a shot that would go in for a hole-in-one at the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. (Photo: Zachary BonDurant/AP Images)

Ryder missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open a few weeks ago but has since finished T-23 at the WM Phoenix Open and T-26 at the Genesis Invitational. Last year at the Honda, Ryder played well, eventually tying for 8th.

Michael Thompson (+8000)

Farmers Insurance Open
Michael Thompson acknowledges the crowd after a birdie putt on the 11th green during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Course – North Course. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)

The bearded one has been a bit inconsistent in 2022. He missed the weekend at Pebble, in Scottsdale, and earlier this year at the American Express, but has also finished T-5 at the Sony Open and T-11 at Torrey Pines.

Thompson won the Honda Classic back in 2013 and has finished T-24 or better in four of his last five appearances.

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Wild weather: Thursday was anything but a day in paradise at Butterfield Bermuda Championship

Port Royal Golf Club stirred awake with howling winds and sheets of sideways rain which combined to send scores ballooning.

The scoreboards all say that PGA Tour rookies Austin Eckroat and Greyson Sigg are the clubhouse leaders in the first round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, but no one had a morning quite like Mother Nature.

Port Royal Golf Club in Southampton, Bermuda, the shortest course on the PGA Tour at 6,828 yards, turns nasty when the wind blows in from the Atlantic Ocean and the sun gives way to rain. On Thursday morning, Port Royal rolled its shoulders and stirred awake, an unpleasant combination of howling winds, gusting to 35 miles per hour, and sheets of sideways rain, which combined to send scores ballooning.

“It was a day to kind of survive and I’m glad I kind of hung in there,” said Scotland’s Russell Knox, who knows a things or two about playing in inclement weather, and signed for 1-over 72.

Bermuda Championship: Scores

Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Russell Knox of Scotland talks with his caddie, former PGA Tour pro Willy Wilcox, while waiting to tee off on the ninth hole the first round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course on October 28, 2021 in Southampton. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, England’s Matt Fitzpatrick said he welcomed the wind, but he didn’t have a day like this in mind.

“This is the hardest wind I’ve ever played in. You see winds like this, but normally you don’t play in them,” he said. “People are going to laugh at this because they probably think it’s my normal tee shot, but anyway, I ripped it (on No. 7) and it went 245. I think my season average last year was like 295. Just shows you how strong it is.”

A different type of golf – and temperament – was required to keep the ball flight low and help lessen the effects the trade winds have on ball flight.

“I had like a chip 4-iron to about 35 feet and I was absolutely delighted,” said Fitzpatrick who carded five birdies in a round of even-par 71. “There’s a few shots I hit that were, yeah, I was just happy to get them on the green. That’s kind of what it felt like today anyway.

“We were three, four clubs up every time on a yardage just trying to chip everything in there. There was just a couple that I maybe didn’t quite strike very well and they just ballooned off into no-man’s land.”

Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Brian Gay of the United States plays a shot from the drop zone on the 16th hole during round one of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course on October 28, 2021 in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

Getting to the green was only half the battle.

“Five foot for birdie and a foot and a half for par and, yeah, I was scared to death of it,” Fitzpatrick said of his putting adventures at the ninth hole. “I honestly didn’t know what to do, I’ve never had a putt like it.”

Nick Watney, who managed three birdies in his round of 70, said Nos. 7, 8, 9, the most exposed corridor of the course, played toughest.

“It was gusting too, I mean I’m not good at that, but it felt like at least 40 miles an hour. There were a few shots that I was just like, I just want to hit this ball and I want to be able to see it when it stops. If I do that, then it’s a successful shot,” he said. “We could see the sheets of rain coming (at No. 9), so it was like I wanted to hit it as fast as I could without trying to rush it. Luckily, it stopped about a foot away and I felt like I had to pay attention on that one-footer.”

Knox grew up playing in a wee bit of wind and rain in Scotland, but even he conceded that the conditions in Bermuda were trying at times.

“Every shot was extremely difficult,” he said. “I think I hit a 7-iron from 120, I hit 4-irons from 150 at times. Chipping, I barely hit a full shot all day.”

Knox typically thrives in windy conditions, noting it brings out his creativity and “kind of activates something in my brain which I think makes me a better player.” But the conditions in Bermuda became so extreme for a stretch that the course was unplayable.

“No. 9, we were on the front edge of the green there and I’ve never experienced wind that strong, I think, on a golf course. I mean, we were down on the ground holding an umbrella. My fingers were like cramping I’m holding on so tight,” Knox said. “It wasn’t a question of they needed to blow the horn, there was no like physical way that you could play. We were like, well, we’re just going to wait until we can stand up. It was a good five minutes. That’s as hard as it’s rained plus wind that I’ve ever seen on a golf course.”

Competitors in the afternoon fared better as the rain halted and sunshine burst through the clouds. Scores improved ever-so slightly. Still Knox, who played alongside friends Austin Cook and Ryan Armour, was able to find the brighter side on a gloomy day.

“It was a nice day to experience the wildness with those guys,” Knox said. “Honestly, it was a day that anyone out there will never forget.”

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Rocket Mortgage Classic: Tom Lewis and Joaquin Niemann are bogey-free and share 36-hole lead

No bogeys through 36 holes have Tom Lewis and Joaquin Niemann at the top of the leaderboard and feeling pretty good about it.

DETROIT – At a muddy, water-logged Detroit Golf Club, Joaquin Niemann and Tom Lewis have been Mr. Clean this week.

As in their cards, through two rounds of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, are spotless. No bogeys through 36 holes have the 22-year-old Chilean and the 30-year-old Englishman at the top of the leaderboard and feeling pretty good about it.

“Right now everything is pretty good,” Niemann said.

And why wouldn’t it be? Niemann, who fired a 65 on Thursday, was in one of the last groups to complete the first round before play was suspended due to darkness. He returned on Friday morning and kept away those pesky bogeys. He opened with seven pars before wedging inside 3 feet for his first birdie of the day at No. 8. He tacked on another at the par-5 14th, after hitting the green in 2 and two putting and took advantage of the par-5 17th for his final circle on the card.

Niemann’s second-round 3-under 69 boosted his 36-hole total to 10-under 134, same as Lewis, and one-stroke better than Troy Merritt, Max Homa and Chris Kirk at the midway point of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Niemann, who entered the week ranked No. 30 in the world, blamed a balky putter for his first missed cut of the season at the Memorial and for middling finishes at the U.S. Open and the Travelers Championship. But it’s come alive this week.

“I think that’s the best part of my game right now,” he said.

Indeed, it has. Niemann, who finished T-5 here in 2019, has gained more than five strokes on the green and he’s a perfect 9-for-9 in scrambling.

Lewis, 30, birdied two of his first four holes and canned a 9-foot par putt at the last hole to save par and keep the card spotless for the first 36 holes.

“I was saying to my caddie, John, it would be nice to go up and down and go bogey-free for two rounds. It’s always nice doing that,” Lewis said. “I’m just happy, even if I did miss that putt, to be in the position I am going into the weekend. I’m really pleased with the way I’ve been playing.”

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As he should given that he’s missed the cut in half of his 22 previous starts this season as well as four of his last six tournaments, and his only top-10 finish was at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a two-man team event. Lewis opened with a pair of 67s last week at the Travelers Championship to make the cut but stumbled to 74 on Saturday and tumbled to a T-47 finish.

“I think the toughest round for me is going to be tomorrow. If I can go out and shoot under par, whatever happens, I’ll be really happy with that,” he said.

Lewis and Niemann have plenty of company behind them. Merritt’s 4-under 68 was set up by hitting all 14 fairways on Friday.

“When it’s this soft out here, there’s pretty much one club you hit off of every tee box, don’t even have to think about it,” he said.

But the key has been the return of his putting form, he said.

“When it’s consistently the best part of your game and you struggle with it for more than half of the year, it makes it pretty tough,” Merritt said.

Max Homa can relate, although he only struggled to see putts fall for about 30 holes. But once he broke the seal with a 35-footer at the par-3 15th, he finished with a flurry of four birdies in a row to shoot 7-under 65.

“Joe said it best,” Homa said of caddie Joe Greiner. “When we made the putt on 16, he said, ‘It’s a messed up game we play because we’ve been feeling like the hole’s a thimble and you make one long one and it starts to feel like a bucket.’ ”

Homa’s round tied for the low round of the day with Russell Knox, who hit all 18 greens in regulation and didn’t mind the gusty conditions. Neither did Chris Kirk, who shot 68 and is chasing his first PGA Tour victory since 2015 at a tree-lined course that fits his eye.

“Yeah, it certainly favors the guys that are hitting it out of the middle of the face, that’s for sure,” he said.

Does he count himself among them?

“So far, so far, yeah. It’s been all right,” he said.

Among those who weren’t dialed in this week are Bryson DeChambeau, Gary Woodland and Webb Simpson, who missed the cut. Hideki Matsuyama is another big name who checked out early after testing positive for COVID-19.

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Rocket Mortgage Classic: Russell Knox rides the wind to a PGA Tour rarity

Russell Knox hit a perfect 18 of 18 greens in regulation in the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which is more rare than you might think.

DETROIT – Russell Knox scrolled through social media last night and stopped to read a post from Lou Stagner, who goes by the nickname Golf Stat Pro, claiming that a PGA Tour pro is more likely to make an ace than hit all 18 greens.

According to his data, the chance a player hits all 18 greens happens once every 582 rounds while the chances of a hole-in-one is once every 563 rounds. On Friday, Knox mentioned this to his fellow playing competitors Joaquin Niemann and Garrick Higgo on the 15th hole and that’s when it hit him.

“I had no idea that I had hit every green. I started doing the math and I was a little nervous over my second shot at 18 because I knew I hadn’t chipped all day,” Knox said.

Knox knocked that approach on the green to complete a perfect 18 of 18 greens in regulation. He recalled he once hit every fairway and green in a round at a Korn Ferry Tour event in Omaha, Nebraska. But the last time he hit every green in regulation? Glad you asked: It was the third round of the 2016 Sentry Tournament of Champions.

“I play terribly in Maui,” Knox said.

He’s dialed in so far in Detroit, shooting a second-round 7-under 65 at Detroit Golf Club to climb into contention at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Knox made eight birdies and one bogey, including six birdies in a seven-hole stretch beginning at No. 8. The 36-year-old native Scotsman missed the cut last week at the Travelers Championship but had already forgotten about his subpar performance.

“I needed a round like today, just to be like, OK, things are good, I know I’m swinging good, nice kind of pat on the back, let’s hammer down. My game has been there for months. I just haven’t done it yet. But today was a nice day where it was there,” he said.

Knox leads the field this week in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and proximity to the hole. He averaged 14 feet, 7 inches in the second round on a day when gusting winds made judging club selection challenging. But the wind is Knox’s friend.

“I need the wind, I think, to bring out the creativity in my game,” he said. “I know my caddie (Bradley Whittle) prays for wind every day.”

The wind treated Knox well on Friday, all the way to a rare achievement. Although for the record, Scott Brown made an ace on the 15th tee, proving that the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic was the rare chance to see both a hole-in-one and 18 of 18 greens in regulation. Hey, Lou, what are the odds of seeing both in one round?

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How is Russell Knox staying sharp? Playing anywhere he can — even with kiddos.

The two-time PGA Tour winner is on a break along with the rest of the Tour but he’s still competing.

Russell Knox had a busy playing schedule this week.

The two-time PGA Tour winner is on a break along with the rest of the Tour but that didn’t mean he wasn’t competing. Knox participated in the North Florida Junior Foundation’s Par-3 Championship last Saturday at the Palm Valley Golf Club; then competed with Luis Rivera, Anthony Rivera and Lee Knox in the Henry Tuten Gator Bowl Pro-Am, at the Sea Island Club, on Monday and Tuesday.

But it was two very different levels of competition.

Knox played in a group with five junior members of the NFJG on the second day of the tournament (Anthony Rivera, his nephew, Nicholas Farraye, Alyzabeth Morgan, Alexander Lymus and Brady Dougan), their reward for competing earlier this month in either one of two parent-child tournaments the organization sponsored at Amelia National and Mission Inn.

Knox not only went shot-for-shot with his group, but he carried his own bag and shot 4-under 50 for two loops on the par-27, nine-hole course. Morgan shot 54, Rivera, Farraye and Lymus 55 and Dougan 62.

Two-time PGA Tour winner Russell Knox (second from left) played in the North Florida Junior Foundation Par-3 Championship last week at Palm Valley. Also in his group, from the left, are Nicholas Farraye, Alyzabeth Morgan, Anthony Rivera, Alexander Lymus and Brady Dougan.

Knox has been an ambassador for the NFJG Foundation since 2018.

“It’s a fun little course to play and when you take distance out of it and everyone is hitting from 100 yards, it’s really competitive so it’s a blast to get to play with the kids,” said Knox. “It’s so rewarding and enjoyable to get to spend time with the kids. Just a few years ago that was me. I would have loved if a Tour player would have come and spoke and got to play with me.”

Knox and his amateur tied for fifth in the Gator Bowl Pro-Am at 16-under-par 126.

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Russell Knox on his success at the Mayakoba Golf Classic: ‘I guess it’s the tequila and tacos’

Russell Knox enjoys the creature comforts of being South of the Border this week and posts 6-under 65 to lead by one stroke in Mexico.

Russell Knox has a theory on why he’s historically played well at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

“I guess it’s the tequila and tacos,” he cracked.

Knox torched the back nine at El Camaleon Golf Club, his first nine of the day, making five birdies in a six-hole stretch to shoot 6-under 65 on a blustery day with intermittent rain. A little liquid sunshine and a wee bit of wind never bothered the Scottish native and Knox took advantage.

“It’s so soft out here,” he said. “It’s the opposite of links golf.”

As for his success on the Greg Norman layout, Knox’s record speaks for itself: In 29 rounds at this event, he’s posted just two over-par scores, and he has made the cut in all seven of his previous starts at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, resulting in three top-10 finishes and a tie for second in 2016. It’s more than just the tough condition that played into Knox’s wheel house. El Camaleon is a ball-striker’s paradise, where accuracy typically trumps distance.

“It sets up well for me,” Knox said. “I mean, historically, my driving accuracy and iron play’s been my strength, so that’s kind of the key things that this course brings out in you.”

But the bread and butter of Knox’s game have let him down the past few years. He finished 2016 ranked at No. 18 in the world, but entered this week at No. 221. That fall off included missing 10 straights cuts last season and finishing No. 127 in the FedEx Cup standings to miss the Playoffs for the first time since 2013. But he’s recorded three top-15 finishes during the fall since the start of the new season and it’s boosted his confidence.

MAYAKOBA: Scores | Photo gallery | Tee times

“I’ve been playing great golf at home,” he said. “I know my game and my swing is progressing nicely, my putting is as good as it’s ever been. So, see how good I can get over four days. I mean, I know obviously if you’re going to be there at the end, you’ve got to keep your foot down, keep playing aggressive, free swings and that’s my main goal.”

Three golfers – Joaquin Niemann, Emiliano Grillo and Tom Hoge – are one stroke off the pace. Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz, who won the Vivint Houston Open last month, is among a logjam at 4-under 67 and shot the best score among the six Mexican players in the field.

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“When I made like a 60-footer for eagle on 5, I knew it was going to be a pretty good day,” he said.

Defending champion Brendon Todd matched Ortiz with 4-under 67 as did Monday Qualifier Akshay Bhatia. Making his PGA Tour debut as a professional, 2019 U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree is T-20 after a 2-under 69. Brendan Steele had the “shot of the day,” holing out his second shot from 235 yards at the par-5 13th for an albatross. He shot even-par 71, as did Brooks Koepka. With a forecast calling for rain, preferred lies was utilized during the first round. The forecast for the next three days isn’t expected to improve, which could make for a very soupy course and fear of the dreaded mud ball.

“Just kind of embrace it, I would say,” said Hoge of the upcoming forecast. “Not too many days are calm here on the beach. You kind of know what you’re in for.”