Cantlay shares lead in La Quinta
Patrick Cantlay shot a 10under 62 in perfect weather and turf conditions Thursday at La Quinta Country Club for a share of the firstround lead with rookie Lee Hodges in the American Express.
Cantlay (Servite High, UCLA) played the first seven holes in seven under, making an eagle on the parfive sixth and five birdies. The FedEx Cup champion added birdies on Nos. 11-13, two of them par fives, and closed with five straight pars.
“I got off to a roll at the start and kind of made a bunch of putts and then I kind of lagged on the way coming in,” he said. “But I was happy with everything.”
Cantlay won the BMW Championship and Tour Championship in his final two starts last year and opened this year with a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in Hawaii at the Tournament of Champions.
Hodges made a memorable debut in the event. The former Alabama star played the back nine at La Quinta in seven-under 29, eagling the par-five fifth and making five birdies.
Cameron Young and K.H. Lee were tied for third at 64.
Lopez makes six birdies, shoots 67
Mexico’s Gaby Lopez jumped to the lead in the Tournament of Champions, piecing together what she considered a near-perfect opening round to the new season. She made six birdies in a five-under 67 at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla.
Lopez led by one shot over a foursome of players at 68 that included three major champions: world No. 1 Nelly Korda, who won her first major last year in the KPMG Women’s PGA; Danielle Kang, the 2017 Women’s PGA champion; and U.S. Open champion Yuka Saso, who bogeyed her final hole. Also at 68 was Ryann O’Toole.