Quiban suffers shaky start
He rescued a par from the bunker on the next and rolled in a 27-footer for birdie on the par-3 fourth and gained another stroke on the next from five feet.
Justin Quiban blew whatever momentum or confidence he might have built following his inspiring Monday qualifier performance as he stumbled early and limped to a 73 in a rather shaky PGA Tour debut in the 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota Thursday.
Ricky Fowler, Troy Merritt and Jhonattan Vegas shot identical 64s at the par-71 TPC Twin Cities Golf Club to seize the clubhouse lead at the start of the $6.6 million championship that stranded 11 players due to inclement weather.
Scott Stallings and Adam Schenk each fired a 65 while Roger Solan posted a six-under card with two holes to play.
Quiban had high hopes in a cherished stint with some of the world’s elite in the 72-hole championship that featured the likes of world No. 2 Dustin Johnson, Tony Finau, Louis Oosthuize, and other major winners Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Gary Woodland following a third place finish in the final eliminations.
But pressure began to mount for the 25-year-old Filipino shotmaker right after he parred the first hole from three feet as he dropped two shots on the par-4 No. 2 after hitting his approach shot from 172 yards to the right rough and three-putting from around 30 feet.
He rescued a par from the bunker on the next and rolled in a 27-footer for birdie on the par-3 fourth and gained another stroke on the next from five feet.
But after three pars, he missed the ninth green and muffed a five-footer for par.
Though he recovered the stroke on the par-5 12th, he bogeyed the par-3 next off the bunker and flubbed an eight-footer for par on the closing par-5 18th for a 36-37 and provisional share of 126th place in the 156-player field.
A tougher test awaits Quiban in the second round following a switch in tee times. He will start at 2:12 p.m. on No. 10, still with Chris Baker of the US and South African MJ Daffue, who opened with a fiery 66 and 69, respectively.
Meanwhile, Oosthuizen, who tied for third in last week’s British Open which he led after three rounds, fired a 68 while Johnson, Reed and Garcia turned in similar 70s and Finau and Watson wavered with identical 72s.