Unheralded alternate Lashley shoots 63 for PGA Detroit lead
WASHINGTON: Unheralded alternate Nate Lashley, the last player in the field, fired a nine-under-par 63 to seize a one-stroke lead after Thursday’s opening round (Friday in Manila) of the US
PGA Rocket Mortgage Classic.
T h e 36- yearo l d American, ranked 353rd in the wo r l d , birdied five of the last six holes to shoot the low round of his brief PGA career to stand on 9- under par after 18 holes at Detroit
“I’m
just
trying
to play
Americans Ryan Armour and Nick Watney shared second on 64 with Americans Charles Howell, Talor Gooch, Chez Reavie, Stewart Cink, Adam Schenk and Chase Wright plus Slovakian Rory Lashley, playing this season on a medical extension after a knee injury last year as a rookie, only took the last spot in the -
Last week in Hartford, Lashley was atop the alternate list but
it’s not a whole lot of fun, that feeling of only missing getting in the event by a spot, by one
Lashley’s tour status for next season hangs by a thread with only a few weeks remaining in the campaign, ranked 132nd in points, seven places adrift from
“Hopefully I can play well this week, continue to play well, lock up my card and go
His lone top- 10 PGA finish came with a share of eighth at
He ago in the US Open at Pebble Beach in his major debut and hopes to take one of two available spots here this week for next month’s British Open in
Lashley opened and closed the front nine with birdies and sank a 36-foot putt at the sixth on his way to making the turn
His closing birdie run included birdie putts from 14 feet at 16 and eight feet at the par-5
“I got it under the hole in most cases and was able to knock it in the holes without a lot of breaks,” -
“Just trying to come out here and play golf and see what hap
Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and South Korea’s An Byeong- Hun were
Gary Woodland, an American
the US Open earlier this month, opened on 73 while world number two Dustin Johnson, another long- driving US star,