Rookie’s birdie run leads AmEx field
It’s hard to have a much better start to a round than Davis Thompson did Thursday during his first round of The American Express at La Quinta Country Club in California.
Thompson, a 23-year-old PGA Tour rookie, was 7 under after six holes, including a stretch of 6 under in four holes that featured consecutive eagles on the par-5 fifth and par-5 sixth.
Birdie. Par. Birdie. Eagle. Eagle. Birdie. That’s a lot of circles on the card to begin the day.
Thompson became the first player since Robert Streb at the 2021 CJ Cup to go 7 under in his first six holes. He’s also the first player with consecutive eagles in a round since Shane Lowry at the 2022 British Open at St Andrews.
Davis Thompson becomes the first player to play the first six holes of a round in 7-under or better since Robert Streb in the first round of the 2021 CJ CUP (-7).
Thompson shot an 8-under 28 on the front nine.
In six starts this season, he has made five cuts and finished tied for ninth at the Fortinet Championship. However, his hot start Thursday had him out front early and at the end of the day. Thompson shot 10-under 62.
Four golfers had three eagles in one round last season: Shane Lowry, British Open; Trey Mullinax, Byron Nelson; Stephan Jaeger, Mexico Open at Vidanta; and Carlos Ortiz, WM Phoenix Open.
Schauffele’s back is better, and so is his game
One reason Xander Schauffele is eager to play in The American Express this week is that he missed out on a chance for FedExCup points two weeks ago at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. Schauffele played the first round of the Sentry in Hawaii but had to withdraw with back pain, an issue that dates to last fall for him.
“It’s a little sore,” Schauffele said of the back this week. “Trying to be as patient as possible to take things as slow as possible in terms of getting too many reps in, and I guess being stupid in that sense. But I’m known to try to practice too much at times. I’m trying to take this one slow so I don’t hurt it again or do something of that nature.”
Schauffele played two events in the fall, a tie for ninth at the Zozo Championship and a fourth place at the Hero World Challenge, so The American Express is his third chance to play a full tournament week and get full FedExCup points in the PGA Tour’s 2022-23 wraparound season. He started his American Express with a strong 7-under 65 at La Quinta Country Club on Thursday that left him near the top of the leaderboard.
Schauffele won three times last year, and he’s hoping that getting back to his home state of California will jump-start his 2022-23 season.
“I would say the West Coast is usually a nice coast for me. I grew up on this side and I’ve definitely been able to make some points up on this side of the United States,” he said. “Us pros, we kind of stock our calendar how we see fit. When you win early and get points up on the board early, it’s really nice and it really frees you up almost in terms of what you can do the rest of the year in terms of flexibility and taking a tournament off if you’re tired or adding one if you want to add more points. So definitely winning early makes things very nice.”
Like other pros in The American Express, Schauffele said he will play five of the seven events on the West Coast swing, including the withdrawal at the Sentry. He has already skipped the Sony Open and will miss the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. That assumes his back holds up.
“I’m that golfer who is sort of like just one more, and it’s like 50,” Schauffele joked. “You know what I mean? I’m that guy. So I think all of us out here who are tour pros are those people and definitely guilty.”