Zurich Classic of New Orleans: Stricker stays strong, Bradley and Donald struggle in the first round – Golf News
Steve Stricker shot seven birdies against a lone bogey in the opening round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans to tie for the third position on Thursday, April 26, 2012.
Stricker started the round on the back nine of the course and made two birdies and a maiden bogey on the par-five 18th hole.
After the bogey, he bounced back strongly with a birdie on the par-five second hole, followed by four consecutive birdies starting from the fifth hole.
“I feel good. I feel even better about the start I got today” he said.
“Putted well, Hit the ball well. Gave myself a lot of opportunities. Even had a couple opportunities on the front that I didn't convert but I made the turn at 18 and bogeyed 18 and kind of lit a fire under me. Kind of got me going, to tell you the truth”.
“I played really solid all day today and just anytime you can finish with four birdies out of the last five holes, it's a nice end to your day,” he added.
In the meantime, Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley looked out of focus at TPC Louisiana. Both the players managed to record a score of one-over par 73 each to share the 102nd place on the leaderboard.
Once again, Donald lost his consistency that earned him several awards last year on the PGA Tour as well as on the European Tour.
He made some really good shots that earned him four birdies in total. Despite this, he lost control over his game at one stage, costing him three bogeys and a double bogey that came on the par-three 17th hole.
Same was the case with Bradley, as he parred 14 holes, along with two birdies. However, the fourth and ninth holes witnessed him losing grip on the game, as he suffered a double bogey and a bogey, respectively.
Ken Duke and Cameron Tringale were the first-round leaders after firing a seven-under par 65 each.
Duke registered a bogey-free round with the help of seven birdies. Meanwhile, Tringale managed to post a total of eight birdies against a lone bogey.
The highlight of Tringale’s performance was the back-to-back four birdies he made to finish off his round.
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