The first round at Los Angeles Country Club was full of fireworks, as the golfers took advantage of a wide open course where the greens encouraged aggressive putting. But when you look at the leaderboard, you can see that, for the most part, the cream is rising to the top:
T1. R. Fowler: -8 (62)
T1. X. Schauffele: -8 (62)
T3. W. Clark: -6 (64)
T3. D. Johnson: -6 (64)
T5. B. Harman: -5 (65)
T5. R. McIlroy (NIR): -5 (65)
T7. B. DeChambeau: -3 (67)
T7. S. Scheffler: -3 (67)
T7. S.W. Kim (KOR): -3 (67)
T7. P. Barjon (FRA): -3 (67)
T7. H. English: -3 (67)
T7. S. Bennett: -3 (67)
Viktor Hovland (NOR), Jon Rahm (ESP), and Phil Mickelson all shot 69's.
Brooks Koepka and Collin Morikawa shot 71's, Jordan Spieth shot a 72, and Justin Thomas shot a 73.
On the whole, I thought this was an encouraging opening.
Rickie Fowler has won five tournaments on the PGA Tour, and two other tournaments on the European Tour, but he hasn't won a tournament since the 2019 Phoenix Open.
ReplyDeleteXander Schauffele has seven wins on the PGA Tour, including three wins last year.
ReplyDeleteT1. R. Fowler: -8 (18 holes)
ReplyDeleteT1. X. Schauffele: -8 (18)
3. W. Clark: -7 (22)
T4. B. Harman: -5 (21)
T4. R. McIlroy: -5 (21)
Dustin Johnson has started off with a par, a quadruple bogey, and a birdie. He is now 3 over for the day and 3 under for the tournament.
1. W. Clark: -9 (26 holes)
ReplyDeleteT2. R. Fowler: -8 (18)
T2. X. Schauffele: -8 (18)
T4. A. Putnam: -4 (28)
T4. T. Finau: -4 (24)
T4. B. Harman: -4 (24)
T4. R. McIlroy (NIR): -4 (23)
Wyndham Clark attended Valor Christian H.S. in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, where he was classmates with Christian McCaffrey. He played golf for Oklahoma State and Oregon. His only tour victory was the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship.
ReplyDeleteClark played his first 9 holes today in 3 under par, but we aren't seeing charges from too many folks. For the day, Koepka is even through 7, Mickelson is 3 over through 10, and Spieth is even through 7. McIlroy is 1 over through 7. Dustin Johnson is 3 over through 8. So the course is presenting more of a challenge than it did yesterday.
ReplyDelete1. W. Clark: -9 (27 holes)
ReplyDeleteT2. R. Fowler: -8 (18)
T2. X. Schauffele: -8 (18)
T4. A. Putham: -4 (29)
T4. S. Bennett: -4 (26)
T4. T. Finau: -4 (25)
T4. B. Harman: -4 (25)
T4. R. McIlroy (NIR): -4 (25)
1. W. Clark: -9 (29 holes)
ReplyDeleteT2. R. Fowler: -8 (18)
T2. X. Schauffele: -8 (18)
4. T. Finau: -5 (27)
T5. S. Bennett: -4 (27)
T5. B. Harman: -4 (27)
McIroy has fallen back to 3 under par after 26 holes. He is tied with Dustin Johnson and many others.
Rickie Fowler will tee off at 3:32 PM Central. Xander Schauffele will tee off at 3:54 PM Central.
ReplyDeleteT1. W. Clark: -8 (31 holes)
ReplyDeleteT1. R. Fowler: -8 (18)
T1. X. Schauffele: -8 (18)
T4. H. English: -5 (32)
T4. S. Bennett: -5 (30)
McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, and Tony Finau are part of a group at 4 under.
So yesterday we had a lot of birdies and eagles, and today everyone is just grinding. No one who has teed off so far today is more than 3 under for his round.
ReplyDeleteT1. W. Clark: -8 (34 holes)
ReplyDeleteT1. R. Fowler: -8 (18)
T1. X. Schauffele: -8 (18)
T4. H. English: -6 (34)
T4. S. Bennett: -6 (33)
Harris English is now charging. He's 4 under for the day, and 7 under through 35 holes.
ReplyDeleteEnglish closes with a 66, and he's in the clubhouse at 7 under par after two rounds.
ReplyDeleteDustin Johnson closes with a birdie, and finishes an even-par 70 that gets him back to 6 under par. Considering that he made a quadruple bogey 8 on the second hole, that's a pretty impressive round.
ReplyDelete1. W. Clark: -9 (36 holes)
ReplyDeleteT2. R. Fowler: -8 (18)
T2. X. Schauffele: -8 (18)
4. H. English: -7 (36)
T5. D. Johnson: -6 (36)
T5. R. McIlroy (NIR): -6 (33)
Rickie Fowler starts by birdieing the first hole to move to 9 under. McIlroy birdies the 8th hole (his 17th hole of the day) to move to 7 under. Bryson DeChambeau birdies 1 and 3 to move to 5 under. Now it looks like yesterday again.
ReplyDeleteMcIlroy has a 2-footer for birdie on the 9th hole to conclude his round. He taps it in for a 67 that leaves him at 8 under, and that finishes the morning action. Our coverage will stop here.
ReplyDeleteT1. W. Clark: -9 (36 holes)
ReplyDeleteT1. R. Fowler: -9 (19)
T3. R. McIlroy: -8 (36)
T3. X. Schauffele: -8 (18)
5. H. English: -7 (36)