AT&T National on PGA Tour: Round 1 Highlights
The first day at the AT&T National turned out to be a difficult one, as the players wrestled their way to the top, battering the toughest par-70 course on the PGA Tour. Only 28 players out of the field of 120 strong contestants were able to break par and
many of them considered the conditions tougher than the Congressional Country Club, that they played earlier on.
Aussie Adam Scott and American Hunter Haas shared the first round lead with their respective scores of four-under, 66 each to push their bids for the summit. Scott carded some staggering 20-25 feet birdies on his front nine and pulled in two more to finish
off with the lead.
The player did however stumble on a lone bogey in his otherwise perfect round. The 30-year-old Scott criticized the course preparations for the US Open where he missed the cut by one shot.
"They obviously didn’t get the greens where they really would have liked them," said Scott, "And here, I think they've got the greens probably where the U.S. Open would have liked them on a Thursday."
Haas also performed well to pull in four consecutive birdies to put him into contention for the top slot. He was the only player to reach the five-under mark but dropped a shot at par-four, seventh to fall back.
Haas has had a disappointing run so far for the season and his best finish came at the Puerto Rico Open in March where he finished for a joint third. He was not able to qualify for either of the two majors so far and is eager to break the taboo.
Some four players ended up tied for the third including Dean Wilson, Joe Ogilvie, Jhonattan Vegas and Kyle Stanley with their respective scores of three-under, 67. Another group of ten players finished tied for the seventh place, two shots behind the lead.
The group included the likes of Robert Garrigus, Pat Perez, Vijay Singh and Rickie Fowler. Perez lauded the course preparation at the Aronimink Golf Club and cited it as good enough to be a US Open course.
"This place is a month away from playing the U.S. Open," Perez said. "If they brought the fairways in, no joke this course is ready for a U.S. Open doing very little. Because if you hit it in the rough five or six times, you're dead."
Mexico Open winner on the Nationwide Tour, Erik Compton pulled in a glorious Ace at the Par-four, 11th, in his otherwise lopsided round. His card displayed three double-bogeys, three bogeys, one birdie and an eagle, finishing off for a six-over,
76.
Defending champion Justin Rose finished for a joint 29th with his even-par score for the first round. Rose was tied with several players including the Players Championship winner K.J.Choi, Nick Watney and amateur Patrick Cantlay.
Tags: