Chris Stroud makes a strong start at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans – Golf News
Chris Stroud fired a six-under par 66 in the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, at the TPC Louisiana, to share the third position on Thursday, April 26, 2012.
The only bad moment of his performance on the opening day was when he carded a bogey on the 10th hole - the very first hole that he played.
He responded to the opening bogey with an eagle on the par-four 13th hole. Thereafter, he never looked back and performed well to cheer up his fans on the course as well as the spectators watching him on TV.
"You know, I put a lot of time with my wedges over the last three, four, five months and I've hit a lot of good wedges," Stroud said of his sand-wedge eagle.
"... just one of those times I hit a great little wedge and it just landed exactly where I was looking and went right in the hole (13th)".
Overall, he managed to score five birdies and an eagle against a lone bogey to finish one stroke behind the leaders, Ken Duke and Cameron Tringale.
"My goal today was to shoot 2-under on each side, 4-under," Stroud said in an interview after his round. "I shot 6. I'm very, very happy. I didn't think it was really possible as hard as it was blowing".
Despite a great opening score, he believes that it will not be an easy job to hold on to the top positions on the leaderboard, because of the top-notch field of the tournament.
He believes that scoring low scores will not be that easy on the course. A number of players will come into contention with the progression of the tournament.
Therefore, he will need consistency and nerves under his control in order to remain in contention for the top position at the end of the tournament.
Daniel Chopra, Steve Stricker and Ernie Els displayed decent performances, they were tied for the third place after carding a six-under par 66 each.
Moreover, Ben Curtis, John Rollins and Jason Dufner were a further stroke behind to share the seventh spot on the leaderboard.
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