Leader opens with 62 in W.Va.
Langley surges at The Greenbrier
Friends Scott Langley and Jonathan Byrd said they fed off each other in their morning rounds and found themselves at the top of the leader board in The Greenbrier Classic in White Sulpher Springs, W.Va.
They were tied at 7 under before Langley surged ahead with a short birdie putt at the par-4 16th for an opening round of 62.
Byrd and Danny Lee were a stroke behind Langley after 7under 63s. Brian Davis and Ryo Ishikawa were at 64.
Neither Langley nor Byrd has a top-10 finish this season and both need some solid results to be among the 125 qualifiers for the FedEx Cup playoffs starting in late August.
“I got a little down on myself earlier in the year because the results weren’t really there,” Langley said. “I kind of looked at myself in the mirror and said, you know, at the end of the day, I need to be the most positive guy in the field week in and week out.”
Langley, seeking his first win on the PGA Tour, finished 25th at the Travelers Championship a week ago. He hit 17 greens in regulation in his bogey-free round Thursday.
Byrd is in the tournament on a sponsor’s exemption.
For a change, Tiger Woods got off to a good start.
Woods rebounded from a dismal U.S. Open with a 4-under-par 66, four shots behind leader Scott Langley.
Helped by a morning rain that softened the Old White TPC course, Woods posted his lowest score of the season and matched his best in relation to par. It was only the fourth time he shot in the 60s in 21 rounds. None were on the first day of an event.
“Overall I can’t really say I hit any great shots, but I hit a lot of good ones,” Woods said. “I hit the ball better than what my score indicates.”
Two weeks ago at the U.S. Open, Woods had the highest 36-hole score of his pro career — 156.
Other tournament
French Open: Maximilian Kieffer of Germany was leading at 4 under with four holes to play when the first round was suspended for the day because of thunderstorms in Paris. Victor Dubuisson, Bernd Wiesberge, and Jaco van Zyl completed their rounds in 3-under 68, while Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Andrew Dodt were on the same score with one hole left. Graeme McDowell, seeking a third consecutive French Open title, was 1 over after 17 holes. Thunderstorms disrupted play for a combined 2½ hours.