Johnson in lead at American Express
Zach Johnson embraced the pressure of being the U.S. Ryder Cup captain last year, even if the experience didn’t go the way anybody on his team hoped.
A few months later, Johnson is past all the pressure and the second-guessing — and those newly lightened shoulders might have been a factor in his sizzling round to start the American Express at La Quinta Country Club.
Johnson made seven of his 10 birdies on the front nine on the way to a 10-under 62 and a share of the lead with Sweden’s Alex Noren
after Thursday’s first round in the Coachella Valley.
Johnson’s 29 on the front nine was the lowest ninehole score in his 493 career PGA Tour starts, and he needed only 10 putts to do it. He credited his strong start partly to an offseason of focused preparation after his release from the demands of the Ryder Cup captaincy.
“Put a lot of good work in as of late,” Johnson said. “Actually been a lot of normal golf work, given what happened last year, with what I was responsible for, which was awesome. Now it’s time to get back to work. I’ve enjoyed the work.”
Rico Hoey and Christiaan Bezuidenhout are one shot back, and 22 golfers shot 65 or better, including Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Min Woo Lee and former champion Si Woo Kim.
Hoey, the Philippinesborn, Rancho Cucamongaraised product of USC, excelled in his fourth PGA Tour start. The 28-year-old former star of the Southern California junior golf scene carded birdies on four consecutive holes in his back nine on the Nicklaus course. Hoey is among the 30 American Express participants who earned their PGA Tour cards from last year’s Korn Ferry Tour.
“It was kind of cool having everyone out here — my family, my dad, girlfriend, coaches,” said Hoey, who often played in the Palm Springs area as a junior. “Feels like a home event for me; I only live an hour away.”
Ayaka Furue made seven birdies in a seven-under 65 for a two-shot lead in the LPGA’s season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona. Danielle Kang, a former Pepperdine standout and another past champion of the event, opened with 68, while Lilia Vu, the reigning LPGA player of the year from UCLA, opened with a 71 . ... UCLA junior Omar Morales shared the lead after one round of the Latin America Amateur.