David Mathis grabs first round lead at FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis
David Mathis, a relatively new name on the PGA Tour, snatched the first round lead at the FedEx St. Jude Classic here at TPC Southwind, Memphis, with a splendid five-under, 65.
This is for the first time Mathis has been able to lead a round on the PGA Tour since his debut in 2009 and is little worried to keep up with the standard he has set for himself in the coming rounds.
Starting from back nine, Mathis pulled in three birdies before making the turn and carded three more before he dropped a shot on the par-3, eighth, his only bogey for the day.
"I don't feel stressed or uncomfortable in the position," Mathis said. "I know there's tons of golf left. I'm just trying to keep poise about me I guess I would say while I play and recognize that, 'Hey, there's lots of holes to play between now and Sunday,'
and so just take it for what it is. Be thankful for a good round and try to reproduce it for the next three days."
Mathis cleared the field with one shot lead.
Five players are tied for the second place including last year’s runner up Robert Karlsson, joined in by John Merrick, Kris Blanks, Kevin Kisner and Colt Knost. Keegan Bradley, the HP Byron Nelson champion of the season, is hoping to break into the US Open
field with another title here at Memphis. He is tied for the seventh place with his three-under alongside Fabian Gomez of Argentine.
Big guns of the sport including the defending champion Lee Westwood, John Daly, Camilo Villegas, and Marco Dawson are locked up for the 20th position with their one-under down the leaderboard.
Mathis, who turned professional in 1997, kept a low profile earlier in his career and joined the Nationwide Tour after his successful bid in the Canadian Tour. He made the switch to the mainstream PGA Tour in 2009 but latter went back to playing at Nationwide.
The 37-year-old has again made a comeback on PGA, playing his 14th event on the tour. He attributed his first round success to a visit by his coach and mentor Patrick Kelley who lended some helping hand with his putting.
Tags: