First day highlights of Zurich Classic of New Orleans – Part2
Charley Hoffman occupied the 15th spot on the leaderboard alongside Ben Crane, Josh Teater, Hunter Haas, Joseph Bramlett and Billy Mayfair.
Hoffman teed off from the front and reeled six birdies against one bogey and one double-bogey. The American finished fourth in driving distance, as he maintained an average of 320 yards by the end of the day. Despite that however, the player was not satisfied
with his game.
When asked how he felt about the figure he attained on the scorecard, he replied that there were some problem areas in his game and he was working on them.
Meanwhile, Crane, who won the Farmer Insurance Open in 2010, struggled in long game, while his short game was average. The player missed nine of the fairways and found trouble in hitting the greens in regulation. Despite that, he reeled, three birdies in
the front and two in the back, which was quite impressive.
Haas kept his game plan directed towards the safe side and decided not to attack the pins from a long distance. In following the strategy, he picked three birdies against no loss and left the course without much remorse.
Charlie Wie, who apparently led the field in the start of the round wrapped the day tied in 21st spot. He compiled a score of 2-under par after picking four birdies in the front and one in the back. The Korean kicked off with a brilliant pace,
but could not keep it consistent, because of the changing weather conditions.
According to the weather updates, the wind blew from north to east in the morning and as the evening descend, it changed its direction from south to east. Some players drafted a strategy to play along, while the rest like Wie watched it destroying their
scorecards.
Wie was joined by ten more players, which included Alexandre Rocha, Steve Stricker, D.A. Points, Vaughn Taylor, Martin Piller, David Mathis, Rickie Fowler, David Toms, Ryan Palmer and Marc Turnesa.
Palmer, the winner of Sony Open 2010, opened the round with a fantastic start. The crowd clapped harder every time he aimed for a putt in the front. He dropped a single shot in the front and picked three birdies, which was quite impressive.
However, tables turned on the back, as the wind changed its direction, which compelled the player to drop two back-to-back shots starting from the par-5 11th. Despite the loss, the player managed to pick one more shot by the end of the round and
wrapped the day with a score of 70.
Article continued in Part 3…
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