Par takes beating on 1st day of new PGA Tour season
Alex Prugh made the first birdie of the 2018-19 wraparound season, knocking in an 8-footer Thursday on the first hole of the North Course at Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa, California.
Seventeen holes later, he had the first clubhouse lead of the season.
After the PGA Tour’s 11-day offseason, Prugh led an assault on par in the first round of the Safeway Open with a 6-under-par 66 that included five birdies and an eagle at the ninth when he knocked in a 45-footer.
“You make birdie on the first hole, and my first thought was, all right, I’m not getting shut out on the day,” Prugh said. “I’m under par, let’s just get it rolling from there. Fortunately, I just made some good putts. And the eagle I made on 9 was a good one, especially since I just missed like a 4-footer for birdie on the hole before. Kind of got a gift on that one and then made a good birdie to finish. It was just a fun day.”
It was a fun day for a lot of players. In mild conditions in California wine country that were ripe for scoring, Chase Wright, in his second PGA Tour start, finished eagle-birdie-birdie to shoot 64 to grab the lead among the early finishers. Wright defeated Prugh in a playoff in last year’s Rust-Oleum Championship on the Web.com Tour.
“It’s been a great year,” said Wright, who got engaged last week to Fuzzy Zoeller’s daughter, Gretchen. “I know I should be here and I’m not by any means surprised about this. My last two competitive rounds were 64, so I think if I keep that up I’ll be just fine.
Coming in off a Ryder Cup where he lost both of his matches, Phil Mickelson had seven birdies in an afternoon tee time start and shot 65.
Among those joining Prugh at 66 were Brandt Snedeker, who shot 59 while winning his ninth PGA Tour title in August’s Wyndham Championship, and Sungjae Im, the youngest of the 21member rookie class. The 20-year-old led the Web.com Tour money list.