Murray breezes to Texas lead
SAN ANTONIO — Grayson Murray fixed a flaw in his swing and hit the ball well enough that blustery conditions didn't matter at the Valero Texas Open. He made seven birdies in his round of 5-under 67 for a one-shot lead.
Of the five players at 68, only Chesson Hadley played in the morning side of the draw Thursday. He says it was among his best rounds of the year.
The wind died in the afternoon and scoring improved on the AT&T Oaks Course at the TPC San Antonio. Keegan Bradley, Ryan Moore, Billy Horschel and Matt Atkins each posted a 68.
Sergio Garcia, playing the Texas Open for the first time since 2010, had a 74. Adam Scott failed to make a birdie in his round of 75.
Garcia has adopted Texas as his home away from his Spanish home. He married Angela Akins last summer, and he's based out of the Austin area.
That's where he was last week after missing the cut at the Masters, for a family gathering of both parents and plenty of doting on Azalea, their 5-week-old daughter.
“Changed a lot of nappies,” Garcia said. “We went to the ranch a couple of times. We practiced a little bit with my dad. I played a member-member at Austin Golf Club with Ben Crenshaw — we managed to win it, too. So just kind of kept myself busy.”
Garcia also has a connection to the Valero Texas Open.
He was the consultant to Greg Norman in designing the AT&T Oaks Course at the TPC San Antonio, which will be used for the ninth straight year at the Texas Open. Garcia played that first year and broke par only once while tying for 45th.
Now he's back to compete against a field that includes Scott, Ernie Els and defending champion Kevin Chappell. Also in the field is Joaquin Niemann of Chile, the No. 1 amateur in the world who makes his pro debut this week at 19 — the same as Garcia when the Spaniard turned pro.
The Texas Open falls into a quiet part of the PGA Tour schedule — two weeks after the Masters, three weeks before The Players Championship. That won't be the case the next year.
With a long-term sponsorship deal, the Texas Open in 2019 moves to the week before the Masters, the last chance for a player to qualify for Augusta National by winning.
RIDGEDALE, Mo. — Jeff Maggert and Jesper Parnevik shot an 8-under 63 in better-ball play Thursday to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions' chilly Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf.
Playing together for the first time in the team event, Maggert and Parnevik eagled the par-5 eighth and had six birdies in the cool and breezy conditions on Big Cedar Lodge's Buffalo Ridge course.
“We play well together,” Maggert said. “We both contributed a lot. Jesper had a lot of birdies and an eagle on our final nine. It was so cold this morning, I just was going to come out and just try to hit fairways and greens. Really I wasn't thinking about making birdies, I was just trying to play steady and give myself an opportunity to have some birdie putts.”