Leishman opens with 10-under 61 at new Nelson site
Marc Leishman shot a 10-under 61 on the new linksstyle Trinity Forest course to take the first-round lead Thursday in the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Jordan Spieth was eight shots back in his hometown event, which returned to Dallas after 35 years at the TPC Four Seasons in suburban Irving. Defending champion Billy Horschel shot 68.
Leishman opened with an eagle, started the back nine with three straight birdies and reached 9 under with another eagle at the 14th.
The 34-year-old Australian, a three-time PGA Tour winner, had chances to go lower but settled for a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th for the lowest round of his PGA Tour career. He was a stroke shy of the Nelson record.
J.J. Spaun and Texan Jimmy Walker shot 64. Spaun had six birdies in a span of seven holes for a 30 on his second nine — the front nine on the undulating layout with no trees or water hazards a few miles south of downtown Dallas.
Champions: Miguel Angel Jimenez matched the course record with an 8-under 64 to take the first-round lead in the Regions Tradition, the first of the PGA Tour Champions’ five major championships.
Jimenez birdied the first four holes and broke the front-nine record at 6-under 30 at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Ala. The Spaniard took the outright lead with a short birdie putt on No. 13 after a rain delay of 1 hour, 17 minutes.
Gene Sauers, Wes Short Jr., Jerry Kelly and Joe Durant were second at 66.
Two-time defending champion Bernhard Langer closed with a birdie for a 70. He has a record 10 senior major titles and is trying to become the first to win the Tradition three straight years since it began in 1989.
Mark Calcavecchia withdrew after 11 holes. He recently broke his left big toe tripping over a tow bar.
LPGA Tour: Annie Park turned a blistering stretch on the back nine into a mistake-free 6-under 65 and a share of the first-round lead on a crowded leaderboard at the Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Va.
Jessica Korda, Azahara Munoz, In Gee Chun and Jaye Marie Green also shot 65. Park, Korda and Munoz played morning rounds in mild conditions, while Chun and Green played in rain that is expected to also be a factor today and Saturday on the resort’s already-soggy River Course.
Munoz had seven birdies and one bogey, and Korda and Chun were bogey-free. Green had seven birdies and bogeyed No. 18.
European Tour: Home favorite Thomas Detry was involved in a seven-way tie for the lead after the first day of the inaugural Belgian Knockout in Antwerp, Belgium. Detry carded a 4-under 67 to share the lead with English pair Matthew Baldwin and Ryan Evans, Spaniard Jorge Campillo, Nico Geyger of Chile, Malaysian Gavin Green and Jeff Winther of Denmark.
The event has an unusual format. The opening two rounds are stroke play before the top 64 players compete in 9-hole knockout strokeplay matches at the weekend.
When Texas opens its NCAA softball regional Friday against Minnesota, coach Connie Clark will continue to use all-conference players Janae Jefferson and Paige von Sprecken at the top of her lineup.
Jefferson has hit leadoff in every one of the Longhorns’ 56 games this season; the freshman has reached base safely in her past 19 games and if the season ended today, her .404 average would rank seventh in school history. Von Sprecken is hitting .316 with 20 doubles, tying Lindsey Stephens’ school record.
Batting third for the Longhorns? Expect to see senior Randel Leahy, whose late-season surge has provided UT’s offense with a spark.
Leahy made her 11th start of the season April 22, Texas’ senior day. She has started nine times in the 11 games since, including three twohit performances in the past 12 games. She homered and scored three times against Iowa State at the Big 12 Tournament.
In Texas’ past three games, the two-year captain has hit third in the lineup.
“She’s being that senior that you want to see, that captain,” Clark said. “I think she’s going to be somebody that we’re going to have to really ride this weekend.”
Leahy hit .272 with seven home runs and 56 RBIs her first three years on campus. Listed as a catcher and utility player, Leahy entered this season without a defined on-field role. Clark felt Leahy was putting too much pressure on herself during the first part of the year and “just couldn’t get the job done.”
Leahy, though, has recently found a home in right field.
“(I’ve been) just keeping it simple and just knowing that this is my last time, potentially ever, playing the game that I grew up playing,” said Leahy, who is majoring in speech and language pathology. “Just having confidence knowing that I’ve spent years and years of work and dedication playing this game. Just to have that confidence has really been significant for me.”
Leahy is one of three seniors on the team, along with von Sprecken and Kristen Clark. Redshirt junior Erica Wright also will wrap up her career when this season’s over. They’re all looking for their first trip to a super regional.