Doug LaBelle II shares lead after round one of the Utah Championship
The United States’s Doug LaBelle II fired an impressive seven-under par 64 in the opening round of the Utah Championship, presented by Utah Sports Commission, to take a share of the lead on Thursday, July 12, 2012.
LaBelle got off to a slow start and mixed two birdies with a lone bogey on the front nine of the Willow Creek Country Club. Through 11 holes, he was one-under for the round.
He did on the last seven holes what he could not manage before that, firing four birdies along with an amazing eagle to move atop the leaderboard, along with his compatriot Morgan Hoffmann and Canadian Brad Fritsch.
The highlight of the day included the 20-foot downhill birdie putt that he holed-in on the 18th green.
"I was trying to two-putt; just dribble it down there," he said of his final-hole birdie putt. "Thankfully, it went in. When it's your day, it's your day".
During the last month’s Mexico Open, he led the tournament with just 15 holes to play on the final day. However, he failed to hold on to his nerves and made many bad putts to slip down the leaderboard and shared the 17th position at the end.
"I've played some really good golf, tee to green, this year. But I haven't gotten anything out of it. Missing four- and six-footers will to that to you".
In the meantime, Hoffmann managed to sink eight birdies against a lone bogey to get into command while heading for the second round. The highlight of his performance includes four straight birdies starting from the ninth hole.
Moreover, he was about to lose the lead on the final hole of the day when his tee shot missed the green and landed on a rough 25 feet away from the pin. Yet, he managed to make a beautiful chip shot to save the par.
"There are going to be a lot of low scores out here," Hoffmann said. "It's shown in the last few years you need to go low. You don't get a better venue than this. Even if you hit a poor shot, you just look up at the mountains. It's unbelievable. I just feel
lucky to be here".
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