Nesmith fires 61, nabs Valspar lead
Score ties Innisbrook course mark
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Matthew Nesmith has been working so hard and getting so little out of his game that he tried to get out of his own way. He wound up in the record book Friday at the Valspar Championship.
No more worrying about whether his drives would find the fairway, his approach shots would land on the green instead of the bunkers, whether his putts would lip out instead of curl in.
Nesmith crafted a 10-under-par 61 to tie the Copperhead course record at Innisbrook set 10 years ago by three-time major champion Padraig Harrington. The 28-year-old South Carolina product missed one fairway and two greens, and there was a stretch late in his round when it seemed he couldn’t miss a putt.
“It’s so weird not to try and hit fairways and not try and hit the green and not try and make putts and just do the best I can. That’s a hard thing for me,” Nesmith said. “I’m just like everybody else. We like control and we like to be able to try and steer things in the right direction, but I’ve been holding on for too long, so I’m done with it.”
Nesmith was at 14-under 128, breaking by two shots the 36-hole Valspar record that Sam Burns and Keegan Bradley set a year ago.
Adam Hadwin of Canada, whose lone PGA Tour victory was five years ago at Innisbrook, had a 66 and was two shots behind.
Burns remained in the hunt in the title defense of his first PGA Tour victory. He recovered from a rugged start to post a 67 and was three shots behind with Scott Stallings (66). Justin Thomas was four behind.
Scoring has been low all week after rain softened the course, and the wind has been minimal. The cut was a 3-under 139, the lowest at Innisbrook by two shots.
Even so, no one had posted better than 64 until Nesmith put together the round that was more than nine shots better than the average. He had eagle putts on three of four par 5s, making an 8-footer on the par-5 14th. He shot 30 on the front nine, and his 18-foot birdie putt on his final hole at No. 9 burned the edge of the cup.
The halfway point is too far away to contemplate a win, which would get him into the Masters, a short drive from where he lives in North Augusta, South Carolina. Nesmith’s father was a part-time caddie at Augusta National, and he grew up attending the Masters. Nesmith played it one time with a member a few years back.
“Whether I get to drive 25 minutes and play in Augusta or whether I’m just going to be at home with my wife and my dog and hanging out with some friends, it’s going to be the same either way,” he said. “So it’s going to happen if it’s going to happen. If it’s not, I’m OK with it.”
■ DP World: At Johannesburg, Shaun Norris had eight birdies and an eagle in a 10-under 62 for an 18-under 126 total and a three-shot lead at the Steyn City Championship’s midpoint.
James Hart du Preez (66) was alone in second. Dean Burmester (65) was five strokes back and alone in third.