First round highlights of Puerto Rico Open - Golf Update
The first round of the $3.5 million PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open wrapped up on Thursday in pleasant weather conditions with James Driscoll in the lead.
Local seed Driscoll carded the lowest score of the day with nine birdies, one eagle and two bogeys. He attained 100 per cent in Green Hits in Regulation and finished first in birdie count. He also tied the course record. He was chased by Will MacKenzie,
who drafted a scorecard of seven-under. The player picked up seven birdies without dropping a shot and finished fifth in Green Hits in Regulation.
Three strokes shy of the leader stood a trio in the third place with blemish free scorecards. Omar Uresti, Brendan Steele, and Angel Cabrera reeled six birdies while taking advantage of the good playing conditions.
A six-way tie was seen at the sixth spot, which included Troy Matteson, Aron Price, Cameron Tringale, Fabian Gomez and Hunter Haas. They composed five-under par each. Meanwhile, Stewart Cink who did not compete for the Cadillac Championship dropped a shot
at the 12th hole and composed a three-under par to take a share in the 20th spot.
Unlike him, his compatriot, John Daly, who entered the tournament courtesy of sponsor exemptions, composed a terrible scorecard in the front. He bogeyed two of the three opening holes and double bogeyed the fourth. Daly tried to counter the loss by reeling
a birdie on the next hole, but missed a par putt on the fifth green, which resulted in him falling further below on the leader board. Despite the early blow, Daly wrapped the front with a birdie.
However, on the back, Daly changed his strategy and decided to play aggressively. He attacked all the pins with wedges and managed to earn 100 percent in Green hits in Regulation. Daly aced the 15th hole after birdying the 11th and
14th before capping the round at two-under.
Despite encountering an early blow, Daly did not give up hope. He told the press, “I hit a couple of poor tee balls that cost me. Just hit a bad putt on one, little 5-footer and missed. Then I came back, birdied five and three-putted seven, which you know,
just one of those days. Kind of got it back.”
This is it for the first round updates. For more news regarding the tournament, refer to bettor.com
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