Jimmy Walker shoots a record equalling 63 at the opening round of the Shell Houston Open
A lot of golfers had something to be happy about on the opening round of the Shell Houston Open. The Redstone Golf Club is known for its pristine greens, with Phil Mickelson calling it the best manicured course outside of Augusta. And the strong field took
full advantage of the terrain as well as the conditions as a crisp morning gave way to a relentless Texas sun. The tournament organizers managed to attract a strong field after modeling the golf course after the Augusta National where the Masters tournament
takes place next week.
The day’s honours belonged to Jimmy Walker. The American golfer was ranked 136th in a field of 142, but still managed to steal the lead from some of the best golfers in the world. He shot nine birdies in a flawless round on his way to a record
equaling score of nine under par 63. This matches the score set by Johnson Wagner and Adam Scott in the opening round of the 2008 tournament. Walker will take heart in knowing that Wagner went on to win the Open that year.
Wagner gives all the credit to his putting; he made 4 putts over fifteen feet. "When you putt well," Walker remarked, "it cures a lot of ills, for sure." Since changing his putter at the start of the season his game has drastically improved. In his last
ten tournaments he has made the cut eight times including two fourth place finishes.
World No.2 Lee Westwood also had a good day and finished the first round at four under par. Also joining him at four under par are eleven other golfers including multiple major winner Padraig Harrington. It was the Irishman’s best start on the Redstone Golf
Club in six appearances here.
Harrington won the Open Championship in 2007 and both the Open Championship and the PGA Championship in 2008 but has not won a tournament since. Consequently he has fallen to 36 in the World Rankings where once he was ranked No. 3.
Phil Mickelson was another major winner who had one of his better rounds in recent memory. The World No. 6 carded a score of 70. After a poor start, he was 3 over par after seven holes, he made six birdies despite cracking his driver on the 8th hole.
Though the rules did not allow Mickelson to change his driver he still managed a driving average of 316.5 yards (according to pgatour.com).
Two strokes behind leader Jimmy Walker are Australian Nick O’Hearn, who held the clubhouse lead earlier in the day, and American John Teater. Chris Kirk was the lone player at six under, but could’ve finished with O’Hearn and Teater were it not a bogey in
his final hole of the day.
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