Hovland, Ventura birdie 9 of final 12 holes
The mindset overall is just that we know each other pretty well and we’re comfortable around each other.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Viktor Hovland and Kris Ventura, who played together as juniors in Norway and as college teammates, grabbed a share of the first-round lead Thursday in the US PGA Tour's Zurich Classic team event.
The duo — who estimate they've played hundreds of rounds together dating back to their amateur days — birdied nine of their final 12 holes in the four-ball first round at TPC Louisiana near New Orleans, posting a 10-under par 62.
Late starters Brice Garnett and Scott Stallings of the United States tied them for the lead, with seven teams sharing third, a stroke back on 63.
"The mindset overall is just that we know each other pretty well and we're comfortable around each other, so it was going to be a fun day no matter what," Hovland said.
"Obviously we played well today, but it's always fun to play together, and we don't get to do that very often in a tournament especially. It definitely brings back some memories to national teams in Norway and college golf, for sure."
Hovland and Ventura had just one birdie in their first six holes, but then the birdies started falling.
"Kris decided to heat up his putter," Hovland said. "That really helped."
Ventura drained birdie putts of 36 feet and 20 feet at the 15th and 16th and Hovland capped their day with an eight-foot birdie at the last.
"We basically had two birdie chances on every single hole," said Hovland, a two-time US PGA Tour winner. "We just played really solid golf."
Garnett and Stallings birdied eight of their last 11 holes to seize their share of the lead.