Barnes, Hahn share Byron Nelson lead
IRVING, Texas — Brooks Koepka leaned in for a closer look at his ball, buried in deep rough, when a critter he couldn’t identify caused him to jump back with a bit of a startled look.
His best guesses were a frog or rat, though he was too disoriented to be sure. It definitely wasn’t a birdie, because Koepka was on his way to finishing with two straight bogeys after sharing the lead late in the opening round of the AT&T Byron Nelson on Thursday.
A year after losing to Sergio Garcia in a playoff at TPC Four Seasons, Koepka settled for a 3-under-par 67 and trailed co-leaders Ricky Barnes and James Hahn by three shots.
“It jumped out, and I didn’t know what was going on — freaked me out,” said Koepka, who needed help from a bevy of tournament volunteers and fans to find his ball while hitting two shots out of the thick grass and just missing a chip that would have saved par on the ninth hole, his last.
“I was so in amazement of what just happened …. I couldn’t see it because it ran underneath the grass again.”
Jason Kokrak, Matt Kuchar, Cameron Tringale and Jhonattan Vegas each shot a 66, and top-ranked Dustin Johnson was the biggest name of seven who opened with a 67, a stroke ahead of fourth-ranked Jason Day and sixth-ranked Jordan Spieth, for whom this is his hometown event.
Garcia, who’s ranked fifth thanks in part to his Masters win last month, made three bogeys on the front nine and just one birdie in a 73 that left him tied for 93rd.
The tournament is being held for the final time at TPC Four Seasons, its home for 35 years. The PGA Tour event will move to the new links-style Trinity Forest Golf Club south of downtown Dallas next year.
Of those who played in blustery afternoon conditions, Tringale was the only player with a lower score than Johnson. Hahn and Barnes played in slightly calmer conditions in the morning.
“It was blowing hard, and it was gusty,” said Johnson, who has four top-10 finishes in seven previous appearances at the Byron Nelson. “I thought it was very difficult to judge the wind and control the ball. Felt like there were a lot of times I hit really good shots that didn’t end up in good spots.”
McCarron lands eagle to finish
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Scott McCarron eagled the par-5 18th hole for a 7-under 65 and a share of the first-round lead at the Regions Tradition, the first of the PGA Tour Champions’ five majors.
Lee Janzen, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Jeff Sluman joined McCarron atop the leaderboard at Greystone Golf & Country Club.
Jimenez and Sluman closed with birdies, and Janzen had a run of six birdies and a bogey from holes 10-17. McCarron was left with a short eagle putt after his approach bounced off the grandstand on No. 18.