Love has high praise for Tour rookie Champ
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Separated on their birth certificates by 31 years, Davis Love III and Cameron Champ nonetheless walked alongside each other in Thursday’s first round of the RMS Classic at Sea Island Golf Club.
At the end of 6,907 yards on the Plantation Course, the two were separated by just one spot on the first page of the leaderboard.
On a windy, chilly day where the thermometer never hit 60, Love, 54 years young and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, turned in a 5-under- par 67 while Champ, the 23-year-old new kid on the block who is turning heads with his outrageous power, signed for a 68.
Playing together for the first time, Champ took Love down memory lane to the days he was one of the longest players in the game.
“That driver, and the 1-iron or whatever his longest iron is, no 3-wood, that was pretty cool because that was me in 1986,” Love said. “The power is incredible. It’s just impressive to see. He hit a couple that were just astounding how far they went. He can flight the ball. He’s got a very good short game. You can tell why he’s going to be successful.”
The two were looking up at Charles Howell III, who hit every green and fairway in regulation and toured the Plantation Course in 64 shots to grab a twoshot lead over J.J. Spaun and defending champion Austin Cook, who both played the Plantation Course.
Brian Harmon and Peter Uihlein each shot 4-under-par 66, the lowest score on the Seaside Course, which is the tougher of the two layouts used for the tournament. Joining Love at 67 was Aaron Baddeley.
Love grew up at Sea Island and is the unofficial mayor of the area, where he lives, hosts the RSM Classic, is partowner of a restaurant, owns a paddle board shop and helps raise millions for charity with his foundation and the tournament. Yet he still makes time to work on his golf game.
LPGA Tour
NAPLES, Fla. – Amy Olson had a simple explanation for her brilliant start at the CME Group Tour Championship. “I don’t have any bad memories,” she said.
Playing the LPGA’s season-ending event for the first time, Olson was flawless with nine birdies and no dropped shots on her way to a 9-under 63 and a one-shot lead over Brittany Lincicome and Nasa Hataoka after Thursday’s opening round.
Olson had two separate streaks of four consecutive birdies on what became an ideal day for scoring at Tiburon Golf Club. Of the 72 players in the field, 45 were under par following the opening round – and the top four women on the leaderboard combined for only one bogey.
World Tour Championship
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Francesco Molinari missed two par putts from less than two feet in his opening round of the World Tour Championship to give Tommy Fleetwood a sliver of a chance of keeping the European Tour season title.
Molinari was cruising at one stage, having reached 6-under par after 14 holes, but three-putted the 15th and 18th holes to finish on 4-under 68 at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Fleetwood, his only remaining rival in the Race to Dubai, completed his bogey-free round with a wonderful 25foot birdie putt from off the green on the par-5 18th, and finished just one shot behind Molinari at 69.