Saunders lives like The King for a day
Palmer’s grandson cards 7-under 64 to lead Genesis Open
This is the starring role Sam Saunders prefers.
Saunders, the grandson of Arnold Palmer who so famously kept his composure during a heartfelt eulogy of The King, rolled in birdie putts and kept a clean card at Riviera on Thursday for a 7-under 64 and an early two-shot lead in the Genesis Open.
Saunders called it his best round on the PGA Tour, and it was merely a coincidence that it came on the 50-year anniversary of Palmer defending his title at the Los Angeles Open, when it was played at Rancho Municipal.
“He just always talked about how much he loved coming out there and playing,” Saunders said. “I think his celebrity matched pretty well with the celebrity atmosphere that you have here, so he was obviously comfortable with that.”
Saunders had a two-shot lead over Dustin Johnson, who has a chance to go to No. 1 if he were to win this week. Daniel Summerhays, Cameron Percy, J.T. Poston and Brett Stegmaier joined Johnson at 66, while Phil Mickelson was among those at 67.
Because of a fog delay in the morning, darkness kept 48 players from finishing the first round. They were to return 7 a.m. Friday, though the bigger question was whether a monster storm of rain and wind would allow for that.
Jordan Spieth was at 2 under and facing a 50-foot birdie putt on the 17th. Jason Day was at even par through 16 holes, while Hideki Matsuyama was 1 under through 16 holes.
Saunders has kept a busy schedule over the last four months in the aftermath of Palmer’s death. He is taking on a bigger role at the Arnold Palmer Invitational next month, along with being a husband and the father of two sons, and getting his golf game in shape.
“It’s been busy, but busy in a good way,” he said.
Saunders was rock solid Oct. 3 when he stood before thousands at St. Vincent College, and so many more watching the live telecast of Palmer’s memorial service. Speaking without notes, Saunders beautifully captured the spirit of Palmer as a golfer and as a grandfather, saying that day, “There wasn’t a big difference between the man you saw on TV and the man we knew at home.”
He has always been known as Palmer’s grandson, and Saunders has learned to embrace it. He no longer worries about trying to make a name for himself.
“I don’t need to compete against my grandfather’s career. Nobody can,” he said.
LPGA: Playing for the fourth consecutive week, Australian Katherine Kirk wasn’t showing any signs of fatigue after shooting an 8under 65 at Royal Adelaide to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Women’s Australian Open.
Tied for second with 67s were Marissa Steen and Jane Park of the United States, South Korean Chella Choi and Min Lee of Taiwan, who was the only afternoon golfer to make any inroads on the leaderboard.