Fatigued Davis in contention to win
A celebration on July 4 that ended in the wee hours and a nightmare travel day finally caught up with Cam Davis.
Four days after winning his first PGA Tour title in the Rocket Mortgage Classic in a five-hole playoff against Troy Merritt, the 26-year-old Aussie was dominating rain-softened TPC Deere Run in Thursday’s first round of the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois. Racking up four birdies and an eagle through his first 11 holes, Davis led by two shots before his play turned a bit sour.
Which isn’t surprising since he stayed up until 2 a.m. Monday reveling in his victory in Detroit with Five Guys burgers and a shake and watching a rerun of the final round.
He would have recovered from that but ran into a canceled plane the next day and was forced to drive more than 400 miles to get to the John Deere Classic. A couple of light days at the course on Tuesday and Wednesday recharged the batteries just a tad.
So, while others didn’t falter – Sebastian Munoz birdied his last five holes for an 8-under-par 63 and was joined there by Chesson Hadley while Hank Lebioda, Chez Reavie and Camillo Villegas each shot 64 – Davis made two sloppy bogeys in his last five holes to shoot 67.
“First 11 holes were pretty much just cruising around like I was last week,” Davis said. “It was a little scratchy towards the end, but the swing didn’t feel too much different, just hit the ball in a couple of rough spots.
“I’m definitely a little more fatigued than I was after the first round last week, so I’m just going to take it easy this afternoon.
“I’ve got a late tee time tomorrow, got plenty of time to relax, and hopefully by the time I get to tomorrow I’ll be back to 100% and ready to go again.”
Davis will get plenty of rest and relaxation next week. He was the first alternate for the British Open and would have gotten into golf ’s oldest championship when Kevin Na withdrew, but Davis can’t leave the country.
“I got married last year in September and decided to start the green card process to make traveling in and out of the country so much easier,” Davis said. “But unfortunately I’m not going to be able to leave the States while that’s getting processed.
“That means I’m not able to go next week, but, I’m looking forward to seeing my family and celebrating back in Seattle and recharging a little bit, because this week is already a bit of a grind to get through.
“I’m pretty tired. It’ll be nice to relax. I had no expectations for today really. I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep playing well or if there was going to be a bit of a lull after all that, but I’m very happy to keep it going.”
A lot of players got it going in the first round in the annual birdie fest. In fact, 28 shot 67 or better.