Munoz, Hadley share John Deere lead
SILVIS, Ill. — Sebastian Munoz never knows when the switch will come on and the putts start to fall, but he recognized it happening Thursday in the John Deere Classic.
Munoz was motoring along when he closed with five straight birdies at the TPC Deere Run for an 8-under 63, turning a solid day into a share of the lead with Chesson Hadley.
“I just go blank, to be honest,” Munoz said. “It’s funny because when I make a lot of birdies, I usually play a little more safe and pick my spots. I have like 10-, 12-footers and they start to drop. That’s what I did today. And that’s where we’re at.”
Hadley was on the other side of the course, finishing on the front nine. It wasn’t nearly as spectacular, but he played bogey-free and had back-to-back birdies on three occasions. He was helped by making three of his birdies from 25 feet.
Hank Lebioda, who finished one shot out of the playoff last week in the Rocket Mortgage Classic, was poised to join them. He was 7 under through 12 holes and tied the lead with a tee shot on the 213-yard seventh hole that stopped 20 inches from the cup.
But he missed the fairway to the right on the par-4 ninth, chose to pitch back to the fairway and hit a wedge to 6 feet below the cup. He missed the par putt and had to settle for a 64. Chez Reavie and Camilo Villegas, who played in the morning, also were at 64.
Scoring was so good in immaculate conditions that nearly half the field broke 70.
Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker, who chose to play in the 50th anniversary of the John Deere Classic instead of defending his title in the U.S. Senior Open, got off to a sluggish start until he rallied with a few birdies on the front nine for a 70.
That will leave the three-time John Deere champion some work to do Friday afternoon to make the cut. But at least Stricker gets a little more sleep for that 54-year-old body.
“I’m not used to getting up at 5 in the morning anymore to play,” Stricker said. “And I kind of played like I was still asleep for a while. Righted the ship a little bit. A little disappointed that I didn’t capitalize on a few more of those coming in.”
The leading player from among the top five at the end of the week earns a trip to the British Open if he’s not already exempt. Munoz is in the field next week at Royal St. George’s. Hadley is not, though with so many low scores, it will take two more days to sort that out.
Former Baylor School golfer Luke List is three shots off the lead after shooting 66 in the first round. Keith Mitchell, who also played at Baylor is five shots back at 68.
Andrade, Ames share the lead at U.S. Senior Open
OMAHA, Neb. — Billy Andrade and Stephen Ames shot 5-under-par 65s on Thursday to share the first-round lead in the U.S. Senior Open.
Andrade had five birdies and no bogeys on an Omaha Country Club course that dried out after the sun broke through and the wind came up in the afternoon. Ames had seven birdies and two bogeys in the morning session.
Wes Short Jr. shot 66. Alex Cejka, looking for his third victory in a senior major this year, and Robert Karlsson followed at 67.
Andrade, who started on the 10th hole, pulled into a tie with Ames with a birdie on the par-5 sixth. He got up-and-down from a greenside bunker to save par on the par-4 eighth. He just missed a 20-foot downhill birdie putt on the par-4 ninth.
Andrade’s best finish this season is a tie for fifth, and he has only one other top-10 in 22 events. Two weeks ago he had his worst tournament since 2014, finishing 18 over and tying for 63rd in the Senior Players Championship at Firestone. He’s winless since 2015.
Jon Rahm lives up to his billing at Scottish Open
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — About to start his first event as a major champion, Jon Rahm was taking some practice swings on the first tee at the Scottish Open when his status as golf’s hottest player was underlined.
“On the tee,” the official starter said, “the U.S. Open champion, the Race to Dubai champion, the world No. 1 from Spain, Jon Rahm.”
An opening round of 5-under 66 saw him live up to the billing on Thursday.
Rahm mixed seven birdies with two bogeys over the links at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick and was two strokes off the lead held by Jack Senior, a 353rd-ranked English player who was upstaging one of the best fields assembled on the European Tour for some time.