PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Sepp Straka saved par seven occasions, chipped in late within the spherical for eagle and prevented main hassle for a 5-under 67 and a share of the lead at The Gamers Championship via wind, rain, solar and darkness.
We cannot know till Friday morning whether or not he’ll stay on the prime of the TPC Sawgrass leaderboard together with Maverick McNeely, Lee Hodges and Sahis Segala.
Austin Smotherman was 5 underneath and made a 15-foot birdie putt on the ultimate gap, the par-5 ninth. It appeared like he was going to attain, however two gamers in his group bumped into hassle and as darkness grew thicker, he caught his tee into the bottom and marked his aim till morning.
“Would I’ve been in a position to chip in within the morning? I went backwards and forwards,” Smotherman mentioned. “Given the truth that I had doubts about it, I in all probability ought to have backed out.”
He was certainly one of 4 gamers unable to complete the spherical.
Twelve hours of golf was loads of time for a lot of dramatic performs, together with 38 balls falling into water alongside the Stadium Course’s three closing holes, two eagles from the golf green, and a 21-minute delay attributable to a downpour. Within the afternoon, the rain stopped inside minutes and the solar forged a shadow.
Rory McIlroy, who missed Bay Hill final week due to decrease again ache, mentioned he could not hit greater than 6 ft in a spherical of 74 and did not really feel any ache aside from his putter.
Collin Morikawa, certainly one of this season’s prime gamers, felt pressure in his again throughout his apply swing and withdrew after the primary gap.
Scottie Scheffler hasn’t been in a position to break par within the opening 4 rounds up to now 5 tournaments. He struggled to search out the golf green and spent greater than an hour on the apply vary in a downpour after hitting the 72.
Maybe the most important shock, relying on Smotherman’s putt Friday morning, was that nobody carded decrease than a 67. The final time it occurred within the opening spherical of this occasion was in 2017.
Regardless of some intense scrambling on the again 9, Straka managed to complete with out a bogey. He saved par with a 12-foot putt on the tenth, sank his second shot into the water on the par-5 eleventh, and escaped with one other 12-foot putt for par. He chipped in from 50 ft for eagle on the par-5 sixteenth and drove a wedge into tap-in vary from 67 yards down the golf green on the 18th.
“I felt like I used to be taking part in from the tough all day, which isn’t supreme right here,” Straka mentioned. “Luckily, my iron play and wedge play had been actually good at the moment and I used to be in a position to make a variety of putts and save par.”
Segala, who had three consecutive birdies early on, suffered hassle from the left bunker on the par-5 ninth and suffered a bogey, however his fortunes rotated on the twelfth when his wedge from lower than 100 yards remaining hit the cup for an eagle.
“It is fairly cool to hit the pin and go in. It is a good bonus,” Segala mentioned.
Justin Thomas, who returned to Bay Hill final week after present process again surgical procedure in November, began with three straight birdies and completed with a 68.
“Actually all the things you’ll be able to think about was so much higher (than final week),” mentioned Thomas, who shot 79-79 on the Arnold Palmer Invitational however missed the reduce.
Cameron Younger, Russell Henry and Taylor Moore additionally ranked 68th. The 69th-place group included Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau, who had 4 straight birdies, adopted by 4 straight bogeys.
Henry was fortunate to complete the spherical. He performed within the morning throughout a quick delay, however the rain was falling so arduous that he rushed to the clubhouse from the close by second inexperienced, unaware that the gamers had been being held in place by a fast-moving storm.
Ben Griffin relieved him by telling him play was about to start, and Henry returned to the inexperienced.
