Matt Wallace opens CJ Cup with 8-under 63
McKINNEY, Texas – Matt Wallace hated missing the Masters in April but he learned a few important lessons from watching it on TV. Interestingly, he didn’t take those pointers from watching world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler’s dominant performance.
“It’s difficult to take a lot from him because he’s playing unbelievable golf,” Wallace said.
Rather, Wallace has tried to mimic the focus of Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg, and it worked wonders Thursday in the opening round of The CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Wallace birdied his first three holes and five of the first six out of the gate to race to the top of the leaderboard and shoot 8-under-par 63 at TPC Craig Ranch for a one-stroke lead on Thursday.
“It’s the dream start you want for any round, and from there my mindset was to take care of my business, take care of my shot and not care so much about what the outcome is but just put the best move that I can on it,” Wallace explained.
It’s been a disappointing season for Wallace, who has recorded just one top-25 finish to date and took three weeks off in April to rest his left shoulder, an injury he blamed on “overplaying.”
“Then I slept on it funny at the Cognizant (in early March), and I had to go and get it looked at straightaway. I thought I was going to be out for about six weeks,” he said.
Wallace called his season “terrible,” but he’s been playing long enough to know it’s a long season and there is much golf still to be played.
“I’ve been so far away from where I’ve wanted to be and how I’ve wanted to play that it feels terrible. It’s probably not terrible but it just feels that way,” said Wallace, who claimed he felt a round like this was brewing after his improved iron play last week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. “I came in this week with that belief. Things have felt like they were turning around. I know what I can do in this game.”
Statistically, Wallace enjoyed his best ball-striking round of the season, and his 63 marked a career-low round. That was one shot better than the trio of Sweden’s Alex Noren, who enjoyed fresh greens in the first group of the day; Canadian Taylor Pendrith, who is recovering from his own shoulder injury; and American Chesson Hadley, who raved about the 3-wood he smashed from 256 yards at 18 for one final birdie.
“That was tingles and jingles,” said Hadley, who birdied half the holes, including five in a row beginning at the fifth. “Landed perfect.”
Overnight rain into the morning delayed the start of the tournament for one hour and officials instituted preferred lies in the fairways for the opening round due to wet conditions. That and soft conditions and little wind meant par took a beating from most of the field.
“You got to get it this week every round,” said Hadley, who had missed four consecutive cuts before making the weekend in New Orleans in the team event. “I think I played well today because of last week. I’m such a huge momentum player.”
Defending champion Jason Day posted 5-under 66 and was content with his start but knows he will have to keep chasing birdies.
“I think overall the average winning score is 22-under around here. You kind of have to shoot 5-, 6-(under) a day, somewhere in that region,” he said. “Kind of on par right now, so good. Got three more days left.”
Day played alongside Dallas native Jordan Spieth, who finished with a bogey to leave a sour taste in his mouth about his 3-under 68.
“Doesn’t look like we’re going to get a ton of wind or anything, so I am going to have to really make it up, because there will be a lot of guys shooting low scores,” he said.
Rookie Raul Pereda recorded the shot of the day, a hole-in-one at the 236yard, par-3 seventh. Pereda used a 4iron for his first ace on the PGA Tour and sixth in his lifetime. Asked what he did with the ball, he said it was tucked safely in his bag.
“I’m going to keep that one,” he said. “It’s my first one. I’ll give the other ones away.”