Ken Duke and Cameron Tringale share the first-round lead at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans – Golf News
Ken Duke of the United States carded a bogey-free seven-under par 65 in the opening round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans to share the lead with compatriot Cameron Tringale, at the TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana.
Duke managed to score three back-to-back birdies, starting from the fifth hole to go three-under par through the front nine.
Another four birdies on the back nine, especially the one that came on the final hole, allowed him to move to the top of the leaderboard.
Duke looked pleased with his performance, as he managed to hit 17 greens in regulation and made 28 putts to finish off his round in a decent style.
“Just the confidence, Just confidence in your game,” he said. “Confidence being right there in the heat of the moment and trusting your game, believing that you can hit shots and that's what you practice for and that's why you're out here”.
He also told that he was lucky to go out early in the morning because it helped him settle down on the course.
On the first two or three holes, the wind was not blowing. Therefore, it was easy to get used to the conditions, but the winds started changing the game afterwards.
On the other hand, Tringale made an even more interesting end to his round, as he carded four consecutive birdies on the final four holes that he played. He managed to score a total of eight birdies against a lone bogey.
"My game felt really nice for quite some time and don't know how to explain it," Tringale said. "Just playing with a little confidence and it goes a long way in this game. ... When I had chances to make birdies I was making them and made a couple 20-footers
as well. So, turned into a good day".
Meanwhile, four players, Daniel Chopra, Steve Stricker, Ernie Els and Chris Stroud, were tied for the third position after carding a six-under par 66 each.
Ben Curtis, the winner of the last week’s Valero Texas Open, was tied for the seventh place after posting a five-under par 67 score.
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