Zach Johnson accepted the pressure of captaining the USA at last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome. A few months later, Johnson put the doubters to rest with a brilliant opening round in the American Express, a tournament in which the defending champion, for obvious reasons, the Basque Jon Rahm, is not competing this week.
Johnson, a Masters and British champion, made seven of his 10 birdies in the first nine holes, en route to a 62 (-10) to share the lead with Swede Alex Noren after the first round at Coachella Valley.
Johnson’s 29 strokes in the first half was the lowest nine-hole score in his 493 PGA Tour appearances, and he needed just 10 putts to achieve it. Johnson attributed his strong start in part to a period of dedicated preparation following his release from the demands of Ryder Cup captaincy.
Rico Hoey and Christiaan Bezuidenhout are one shot off the leaders, and 22 golfers shot 65 or lower, including Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Australia’s Min Woo Lee and former champion Si Woo Kim.
Noren’s round started with five birdies and an eagle in the first seven holes, followed by a double bogey. He finished with five more birdies in his last six holes. The 41-year-old ten-time European Tour winner is still looking for his first PGA Tour title.
Hoey, born in the Philippines and raised in Rancho-Cucamonga, a USC product, is outstanding in his fourth appearance on the PGA Tour. The 28-year-old former Southern California junior golf star birdied four consecutive holes on the back nine. Hoey is one of 30 American Express participants who earned their PGA Tour card on the Korn Ferry Tour last year.
Thomas also got off to a good start in his season debut, shooting a 65 and eight birdies. The two-time PGA Championship winner and former world No. 1 hasn’t won a tournament since a second PGA title in 2022. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler had a 67 with three of his five birdies clustered in the round. Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark each shot 70s.
Players play one round on each of the event’s three courses before Saturday’s 54-hole cut.
Source: La Verdad
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