Byrd flying in PGA opener
Americanjonathanbyrd made a sizzling start to his title defence at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, defying breezy conditions to charge a shot clear in Friday’s opening round.
The 33-year-old used a redhot putter to rattle in six successive birdies on the front nine on the way to a superb six-under 67 in dazzling sunshine at the picturesque Kapalua Resort.
That left Byrd a stroke in front of fellow Americans Steve Stricker, Webb Simpson and Michael Bradley, and Britain’s Martin Laird, in the PGA Tour’s season opener.
“I feel like I know how to play this course,” Byrd said after recording eight birdies and two bogeys in his first competitive round of the year. “The front nine was fun. You’re kind of never sure what you’ve got starting off the first round of the year, and it’s hard not to get ahead of yourself a little bit.”
PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley carded 69 and South Korean KJ Choi opened with 70 in a field of 27.
Byrd, who won last year’s title in a playoff with compatriot Robert Garrigus, holed monster birdie putts from 28, 26 and 30 feet at the sixth, seventh and eighth to reach the turn in five-under 31. Although he bogeyed the par-three 11th, he picked up further shots at the 12th and 16th to grab the lead in the limited-field tournament, which brings together PGA Tour winners from the previous season.
World No. 6 Stricker, the highest-ranked player in the field, surged up the leaderboard with four birdies in the last five holes.
“To finish with four birdies out of the last five holes definitely brings some momentum into tomorrow,” Stricker said with a smile.
Former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover pulled out before the start of the opening round after spraining a ligament in his right knee while paddleboarding over the weekend.